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Of course, they're not the only stars expected during the festival's run. Also anticipated: Reese Witherspoon, Angelina Jolie, Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Scarlett Johansson, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.
And although The Terminal was not a big hit in the U.S., Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks are expected to be on hand to kick off its premiere in Venice, which many in the film industry consider the official launch of the Oscar contender season.
The festival runs until 9/11, and, ironically, contains films with themes about the fateful day. One is director Wim Wenders's Land of Plenty, a critical look at America in the aftermath of the attack. Another is The Hamburg Cell, about the hijackers of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania.
While Cruise is due to help kick off Collateral, Kidman's appearance is connected to the showing of director Jonathan Glazer's Birth, in which she plays a woman convinced that a 10-year-old boy is her reincarnated dead husband.
Jolie, Smith and De Niro are expected in town for the screening of the computer-animated Shark Tale.
Johansson and Helen Mirren, meanwhile, are serving on the jury, whose grand prize, the Golden Lion, will be presented by film great Sophia Loren at the closing ceremonies.
