Cruise's Craziest Moments

Calmer interview follows 2004 Today showdown

(NEWSER) - Tom Cruise and Matt Lauer met on Today for the first time since an infamously tense 2005 interview, and this time, things were more relaxed, People reports. The pair chatted about their previous meeting. "I came across as arrogant," Cruise said, adding, "that's not the person I am." They squabbled over Scientology and Cruise’s distaste for psychiatry. At the time, “a lot of stuff was going on,” Cruise said. More»

Also talks Scientology in 'Playboy' interview

(NEWSER) - Tom Cruise promotes his upcoming musical Rock of Ages in the latest issue of Playboy , but not surprisingly, the movie talk isn’t getting quite as much attention as the quotes about Cruise’s personal life. Some highlights:

• On plastic surgery: "I haven't [gotten any], and I never would."
• On his PR nightmare: Asked what he learned from his controversial interview with Matt Lauer (in which he disparaged psychiatry and prescription drugs for post-partum depression) and his Oprah couch fiasco, Cruise replied, “When I go back and look at it, I find myself thinking, I don’t feel that way. I get how it came across, but I don’t feel that way, and I never have. Telling people how to live their lives? I saw how that came across and how pieces were edited.”

He promotes 'Anger Management' on 'Today'

(NEWSER) - Charlie Sheen himself is the first to admit that some of his actions during that "winning" meltdown phase of his life were "a little cringeable." On Today this morning, he told Matt Lauer that when he watched footage from that time, "I didn't recognize parts of who that guy was." But he's back, just a year later, with a new show. "I didn't really have a plan" for how to make a comeback," Sheen said. "I guess the plan was to just reintroduce myself to America and to the media and say, 'Sorry about that, but here's what's happening now.'" More»

Apparently there's a lot of clay, and perhaps some grade inflation to boot

(NEWSER) - They grow up so fast: Suri Cruise’s first day of school—Scientology-flavored school—was last week. So what’s it like at the New Village Leadership Academy in Calabasas, California, which uses L. Ron Hubbard’s “study technology” educational system? Well, for one thing, there’s a lot of clay. Sculpting is apparently big at schools like this, Slate explains, because Hubbard said students are frustrated when they have no access to “mass,” or the physical presence of whatever object they’re studying. According to the official study technology website, without mass students feel, among other things, “sort of spinny” and “squashed.” Therefore, Suri will probably be encouraged to use clay to sculpt concepts she’s learning about. More»

Obama, Bush must recognize that demeanor isn't trivial

(NEWSER) - In office, George W. Bush seemed laid back no matter what, while Barack Obama “has not been a happy warrior.” Both men have been true to form in major interviews over the past week, writes Howard Kurtz in the Daily Beast . Obama acknowledged discouragement—a fair point, but not an inspiring one. “If the president is discouraged by 9.6% unemployment, how should the rest of us feel?” More»