Grammy winner Justin Timberlake is no stranger to being hounded by journalists, but the shoe will be on the other foot as he makes his big-screen debut in the upcoming film "Edison," alongside such Hollywood heavyweights as Kevin Spacey and Morgan Freeman.

Quickly shaking off his Super Bowl fiasco, Timberlake, 22, has signed on to play a young journalist who uncovers a crooked cache of cops -- which means he'll no doubt get some screen time with Freeman, who will portray a wizened journo guiding the upstart reporter, according to the Associated Press.

Spacey, meanwhile, landed the role of a district attorney investigator, and LL Cool J also is scheduled to appear.

Scoring a gig alongside such venerable talent is a coup for the rookie actor Timberlake. And it's a far cry from many of his pop-star cohorts, whose early motion-picture forays ('N Sync bandmates Lance Bass and Joey Fatone's "On the Line," for example) have been marked by relatively unknown casts and tepid storylines.

"After many years of looking at many scripts, (Timberlake's) decided on what we think is a terrific project," his rep tells AP.

David J. Burke, a writer for "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," will make his feature writing and directing debut. Shooting begins March 8 in Vancouver, British Columbia, and the film is expected to be released some time next year.