Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes

Scientologist Anne Archer is setting the record straight about so-called "silent birth." Archer, who has been a Scientologist for nearly 30 years and had a child before and after joining the church, says her pregnancy "was much smoother" the second time.

"We did try to keep as quiet as possible," Archer told 'EXTRA.' "We weren't completely successful, but we did the best we could!"

Tom Cruise took to the air in a 63-year-old airplane as his pregnant fiancee, Katie Holmes, contemplated the birth of their child. Cruise took a P51 Mustang out for a spin Saturday, taking off from Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, Calif.

Cruise owns the refurbished 1943 plane and is currently renting a hanger at the airport.

Tom had a co-pilot securely in tow during the ride.

In a telling new interview out this weekend in PARADE magazine, Tom Cruise talks candidly about his father -- a father he claims was abusive and "a merchant of chaos."

Speaking at his home to PARADE Contributing Editor Dotson Rader, Tom says his childhood was difficult. "I had no really close friend, someone who understands you. I was always the new kid with the wrong shoes, the wrong accent. I didn't have the friend to share things with and confide in." He says that loneliness, combined with a father who he calls "a bully and a coward," made growing up extremely hard.

Tom says his father was "the kind of person where, if something goes wrong, they kick you. It was a great lesson in my life -- how he'd lull you in, make you feel safe and then, bang! For me, it was like, 'There's something wrong with this guy. Don't trust him. Be careful around him.' There's that anxiety."

April 3, 2006 3:00PM ET
'Mission Impossible 3' is set to explode in theatres on May 5, but Tom Cruise is already living his life like globe-trotting super agent Ethan Hunt.The fact that Katie Holmes is expecting his baby any second now didn't stop the superstar from hopping aboard his private jet at Burbank Airport and zooming across to Germany to appear on the popular talk show 'Wetten Dass' (I'll Bet) on April 1.

In true Tom style he rode around the studio on a motorbike, informing the audience that he had two pilots on standby should his girlfriend go into labor. Cruise told the German tabloid Bild that the baby would come first, followed by 'M.I.3' and then a summer wedding to Katie. "It could happen any minute know," admitted Tom. Read more

Celebrity magazine editors and the paparazzi are on call 24/7 this weekend, speculating on buzz that Katie Holmes will give birth in complete silence by following Scientology's strict birthing plan.

Since taking-up with the world's number one movie star, Katie, 27, has been a regular at the Celebrity Scientology Center in Los Angeles where she has been learning about the mysterious religion which Cruise, 43, claims guides his every life decision.

Scientologists believe that a woman must deliver her child without any anesthesia or noise during both her labor and birth. Furthermore, they believe that a newborn must not be separated from its mother immediately after birth, under the theory that separation could cause the baby enormous grief.

That's what Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes said Tuesday about a Valentine's Day report on the Life & Style magazine Web site, which claimed Cruise and Holmes had split up and called off their wedding.

"It should be known that the story is 100 percent false," Arnold Robinson, a publicist for the couple, said in a statement. "Mr. Cruise and Ms. Holmes are still engaged and are moving forward with their wedding plans, as well as planning for the arrival of their child."

The Feb. 27 issue, which will be on news stands Friday, said the public pair "plan to keep up the charade of their romance until after their baby's birth this spring."

Holmes, 27, and Cruise, 43, have been engaged since June. They announced their pregnancy in October.

"Despite the malicious fallacies put forth by Life & Style magazine, the couple is looking forward to a long and happy life together as a family," Robinson said.

A representative for the magazine said the story was accurate: "We stand 100 percent behind our story."

Aniston and Cusack, along with Catherine Keener, were at Sundance for the premiere of their new film, 'Friends With Money.'

Watch interview with Aniston, Keener and Cusack

Here's what the driver is saying:

- Aniston was so wound up over paparazzi following her, she told the driver: "You need to take me where nobody is." He accommodated her by driving for 25 minutes, ending up in a church parking lot. Aniston got out of the car and immediately began chain smoking cigarettes. The driver says this happened several times during her stay.

- Cusack was "sick" of all the hoopla surrounding Aniston's personal life. Cusack told the driver that even though she's a celebrity she's a private person and able to live a "nice normal life." The driver says Cusack put it this way: "It's a choice an actor makes." The comment wasn't specifically directed at Aniston, but the implication is certainly there.

The driver also talked about other celebs at Sundance. He says two "well-known actors" (he did not specify whom) tipped another driver with the joint they had been smoking in the car.

LAS VEGAS -- Hollywood's hottest couple will make an appearance on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show.' Expecting a bundle of joy soon, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes reveal that they still need to find a godmother, a babysitter, decide on a name and take Lamaze classes. In true Ellen style, the talk show host volunteers to help out with all of it.

Watch the complete interview Thursday, January 12!

Video
Ellen Interviews TomKat

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Long before Cruise sprang onto Oprah's couch or blasted Brooke Shields for taking antidepressants, the Hollywood superstar undertook intensive study and counseling at the compound in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday, citing current and former Scientologists.

Behind the guarded gates of the 500-acre compound near Hemet, about 90 miles east of Los Angeles, Cruise had a personal supervisor to oversee his studies in a private course room, ex-members said.

"I was there for eight years and nobody stayed long at all, except for Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman during that period," Bruce Hines, who left Scientology in 2001 after three decades in the church, told the newspaper.

Cruise stayed at the resort for weeks at a time, arriving by car or helicopter, the Times reported.

The ex-church members said Cruise stayed in a bungalow near a golf course and had a special staff to prepare his meals, do his laundry and handle other tasks around the clock.

Tom Cruise and his pregnant love Katie Holmes did a little early Christmas shopping Friday in New York City, even stopping by Cartier. A mini-mob scene gathered as the A-list couple left the store.

Signing autographs and laughing at reporter's questions, the two slowly made their way to a waiting SUV. Katie seemed shy; she quietly smiled, said nothing and hung on to her man. Cruise was more playful with the press, at one point complimenting a reporter on her smile.

The actor and his fiance, Katie Holmes, hosted a fundraising benefit in New York City tonight, amid blistering criticism. Cruise is a co-founder of the New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project, a Scientology-based program claiming to have the secret in curing lingering health problems associated with 9/11 rescue workers.

Tom and Katie were more than happy to share their secrets and meet and greet the heroic firefighters and others at the gala event, with one catch. Ticket prices started at $6,250. Proceeds from the event benefit the "project." For the record, the median salary for New York Firefighters is $46,160.

The controversial program purports to cleanse the body using a proprietary L. Ron Hubbard technique, the "purification rundown," which consists of "sauna sweating, ingestion of cooking oil and large doses of niacin."

On the Project's website, www.detox.org, President Jim Woodworth describes the results, "Patients have had black paste coming out of their pores in the sauna. Their sweat has stained towels purple, blue, orange, yellow and black. They have reported bowel movements that are blue, or green, or that have smelled like smoke -despite the fact that they had not been at a fire scene for months."

The New York Fire Department has withdrawn its initial support of the program upon learning that "Cruise and company advise everyone to stop taking their prescription medications or using inhalers" according to the New York Post's Page Six.

Cruise made headlines this year with his couch-jumping ways on Oprah and his attack against Brooke Shields for taking anti-depressants to help her through her post-partum depression.

In the new statement issued yesterday, the Chairman of the ACR Ultrasound Commission Carol M. Rumack said, "the ACR is concerned that Tom Cruise has been badly advised."

About "Silent Birth":

According to Scientology.org, "In the book, 'Dianetics,' L. Ron Hubbard writes that for the benefit of the mother and child, silence should be maintained during childbirth. This is because any words spoken are recorded in the reactive mind and can have an aberrative effect on the mother and the child."

In practice, 'silent birth' holds that there should be no music or sound during childbirth, let alone screams or cries from labor pains. For the first seven days of the baby's life, the infant should not be poked, prodded or even talked to, for fear of exacerbating the presumed trauma of birth. The process includes a prohibition of painkillers for the mother during labor.

In the upcoming special, Walters addresses the 'silent birth' issue with Cruise. His response, in part: "Like anything, you want to be as quiet as possible. There have been misinterpretations that the woman can't make any noise, and that's just not true. It's nutty. No, but just calm and quiet."

But Scientology.org continues that, "Silence should be maintained during childbirth."

Home Sonograms:

Cruise revealed to Walters that he just purchased his very own sonogram machine, allowing him to monitor the baby's development using sound waves. The machines retail for anywhere from $25,000 to $200,000. Tom said that after the birth, he will donate the machine to a hospital.

Medical professionals contacted by TMZ have expressed concerns that the use of a sonogram by non-medical personnel carries unnecessary risks without any of the benefits that a trained professional can bring to a reading. One of the radiology professionals we spoke with maintained that the use of a sonogram on a fetus should be regarded "as a necessity, not a luxury."

The American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) has recently reaffirmed its 1999 official statement on the subject, saying, "The AIUM considers the use of ultrasound (sonogram) without a medical indication inappropriate and contradictory to the responsible practice of medicine," and that they, "strongly discourage the nonmedical use of ultrasound for psychosocial or entertainment purposes."

Even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has weighed in on the issue. The FDA supports the AIUM position and further asserts that "there is no justification in exposing a fetus to ultrasound without anticipating a medical benefit."

Step aside Jesus, Michael Jackson and Barbra Streisand -- 'South Park' now has its sights set on Tom Cruise and the Church of Scientology.

The Nov. 16 episode of the hit Comedy Central show, titled 'Trapped in the Closet,' features Stan being hailed as a savior by a Scientology-esque group, Radar Online reports. According to the Web site, a group of Hollywood A-listers quickly gathers outside of Stan's house, with Tom Cruise ending up stuck in a closet.

A preview clip on SouthParkStudios.com shows a news reporter saying people hope that Cruise will "just come out" and that no one knows why he's "in the closet." Somehow -- and TMZ doesn't want to try to formulate how this happens -- R. Kelly becomes involved.