Q: Is it true that actors Jennifer Aniston and Ben Stiller were turned down by 24? Why? - L.P.>A: Apparently, yes. Both stars (pictured), are fans of the show and had asked to appear on it, but were deemed too recognisable to be able to fit into the show's plots without drawing viewer attention away. The series, without them, returns to the air in January.

Q: Whatever happened to actress Rebecca DeMornay, who was so good with Tom Cruise iI>Risky Business? — A.W.

<$>DeMornay has continued to appear in films, such as Wedding Crass<$>, and TV series, such as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. On her current slate: the Canadian da American Venus<$>; the drama Music hin<$>, based on the true story of a Vietnam vet's efforts on behalf of Americans with disabilities; and the upcoming HBO series John From Cinnati<$>, a dark look at the surfing culture, scheduled to premiere on the cable channel next June.

Q: I was a fan of the show Cagney and Lacey, and haven't seen Sharon Gless in a while. Is she still acting? —M.

A:<$> Yes, most recently on the Show-time series Queer Folk <$>and in the British miniseries The State Within, playing a US secretary of defence, due to air in the US this month. And she's currently filming a pilot for the USA Netwocalled Burn Notice.

Q: What is actress Julia Roberts doing now? R E.S.

A:<$> She is one of the voice-over stars of the current film Charlotte's Web, is curren filming Charlie Wilson's War<$>, with Tom Hanks, is scheduled to star in a drama based on the novel The Friday Night tting Club<$>, and is set to produce and possibly star in a film called Happiness Sold Separately, about a suburban wife who discovers her husbandinfidelity.

Q: What is actor Dennis Quaid doing next? I think he's so handsome. — P.F.

A:<$> He has a thriller called Vantage Point, about the assassination of a US President, told from different perspectives, due for release; is currently filming a romanticmedy called Smart People<$>, with Sarah Jessica Parker; and is planning several others; a drama about the life of musician Spade Cooley, called Shame on You — which he also wrote and will direct — astery called The Horsemen<$> and the football drThe Expess<$>, about Enrie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy. Quaid plays his coach, Syracuse's Ben Schwartzwalder.

Q: Is George Clooney running for political office? — M.S.

A: The actor, who is very involved in political causes, consistently denies that he's interested in running for office. But those around him speculate that his frequent trips to spur political action — most recently to China on behalf of aid to the victims of Darfur — could eventually translate to a more official political role. But for the momentlooney says no.

Q: Is actor Kevin Spacey making any movies? I think he's great. — E.B.

A:<$> Spacey, who's been spending a lot of his time in London recently as artistic director of the Old Vic Theatre, is currently filming a comedy called Joe Claus, about Santa's brother. He's also set to proe a film called 21<$>, about the attempt by six MIT students to win against the gambling casinos in Las Vegas, and he may also r.

Q: When is The Sopranos coming k? — K.M.

A:<$> The HBO drama is due to return for what is widely expected to be its final season in April. Recent rumours have suggested that lead mobster Tony Soprano might not survive the series' last episodes, but all plot lines, naturally, are being kept under wraps by the cable network.

Q: I wa all the reruns of Absolutely Fabulous. Are the shows stars ever going to do another group of epies? — N.T.

A: <$>There are no plans for Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley to recreate their hilarious, politically incorrect fashion-victim Londoner characters, but the two actresses are going to re-team in another series. Saunders is writing another series, called Clatterford, about the misadventures of a women's club in a small English town, and she plans to r, along with Lumley.

Q: I think actor Steve Carell is so funny. Will he be doing any more moviestside of The Office? — N.S.

A: Yes, indeed. following his hilarious turn in this yearLittle Miss Sunshine<$>, Carell has the following upcoming film lineup: the comedly Evan Almighty>, a sequel to the film Bruce Almighty<$>, in which he co-starred with Jim Carey; the anted Horton Hears a Who<$>, in which he again teams with Carrey; the romantcomedy Dan in Real Life<$>, currently filming, in which he stars with Juliette Binoche,; the planned big-screen version of Get Smart; a comedy that he plans to write but about which very lit is known; a comedy called Juvenile<$>, in which his character, as an adult, gets sent to juvenile prison for a crime he committed when he was younger; and another comedy, High T.