Man Charged In Cruise Extortion Found Dead

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.”

Jessica Biel supposedly wants $500K if Justin Timberlake cheats

(NEWSER) - Rumor has it Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake are engaged—and Biel is not messing around when it comes to the prenup. If JT cheats, she wants to be guaranteed at least half a million dollars, sources told Radar this week. The Frisky notes that clause is pretty tame, especially when you consider these seven other celebrity prenups:

• Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom: The weirdest part of their prenup is Khloe's request for season courtside Lakers tickets. "Wait, what?" writes Amelia McDonell-Parry. "Who wants to watch her ex-husband play every game after un-tying the knot?"

Diamond earrings, a pony, princess gown, etc., etc.

(NEWSER) - All Suri Cruise wants for Christmas is $130,000 worth of swag. And pals of doting parents Toms Cruise and Katie Holmes say she's probably going to get it. Topping the list of the 5-year-old apple of her parents' eye are diamond earrings, a pony, and a dress that "makes her look like a fairy princess." Tom and Katie "love the holidays and always go overboard," a source tells In Touch . "They are buying Suri absolutely everything she asks for." The proud parents have already found a stable for the pony near their Beverly Hills home, notes Hollyscoop. More»

This can only lead to bad things...

(NEWSER) - Raise your hand if you think Suri Cruise is going to end up worse than Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian combined. The latest tale of extravagance in the 5-year-old’s life: Parents Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes paid $5,000 for exclusive use of a VIP-like area at New York’s Rockefeller Center ice skating rink (skaters usually pay $75 to get access to the area ... which they have to share). As if that wasn’t enough, a source tells the New York Daily News the family also had gourmet hot chocolate and treats made by "Mr. Chocolate" himself delivered “especially for Suri,” because God forbid she be subjected to normal ice skating rink snacks. Click to be further horrified by the $130,000 worth of Christmas gifts the tot is asking Santa for. 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»