Home
Latest updates!
US Townhall RealStories presents: Ragan of BIG BROTHER 12
Written by Scott Katz   
Friday, 03 September 2010 18:33

 

Ragan Fox (Photo Credit: CBS)

On Thursday, September 2, Ragan became the latest evictee from the Big Brother 12 house, losing his shot at the half-million dollar jackpot.  However, as the second Saboteur, Ragan successfully completed his two-week mission of secretly stirring up chaos and paranoia in the house, earning himself a nice $20,000 consolation prize. 

Ragan is off to the jury house to hang with his pal, Matt and his not-quite pals, Brendon and Rachel, but not before becoming something of a fan favorite thanks to his underdog status coupled with a never-say-die attitude and an exemplary performance in the competitions.  So, how does Ragan feel about his experience in the Big Brother house and about his fellow house mates?  Read on, and check out our interviews with some of the other houseguests like Matt, Brendon, and Kristen on the next pages of this site.

 

USTOWNHALL SPEAKS TO RAGAN OF BIG BROTHER 12:

 

USTH: When did you know for certain that you would be evicted on Thursday night? Are you content that you did all you could to save yourself?

RAGAN: The minute I lost the OTEV comp I knew I would be evicted – and I have no regrets about the effort I made.  Nothing I would have [done] could have changed Lane's mind.

 

USTH: Do you think you've made any real friends in the Big Brother house? Which housemates will you really make an effort to stay in touch with after finale night?

RAGAN: Yes, definitely.  I anticipate being life long friends with Kristen and Matt.

 

USTH: Give us your true feelings of each of your housemates:

RAGAN: 

  • Andrew - religious hypocrite
  • Annie - hilarious
  • Brendon - neander-troll
  • Britney - cunning
  • Enzo - "meh"
  • Hayden - golden boy
  • Kathy - frisky
  • Kristin - genuine
  • Lane - good old boy
  • Matt - brother
  • Monet - gorgeous
  • Rachel - nightmare

 

USTH: Which houseguest turned out to be the most different from your first impression of him or her and in what ways?

RAGAN: Lane – he has such an amazing sense of humor and is so warm and has a lot of layers to his personality.  Equal parts goofy, compassionate and intelligent.

 

USTH: Which of the remaining houseguests would you like to see in the final 2 and why?

RAGAN: Britney and Lane.  Britney – because she made the biggest moves in the house getting rid of Matt, and she wasn't afraid to win competitions. She is the best player of the game this season and deserves to win.  Lane – because he is the most genuinely nice person in the house.

 

USTH: What was your strategy going into the house, and do you think your friendship with Matt derailed it?

RAGAN: My strategy going in was to not ruffle any feathers early on and go after floaters and pawns. No, I don't think my friendship with Matt derailed it.  It was either going to win me the game or put me in fifth place.

 

USTH: Some of the houseguests are more religious than others – notably Kathy and Andrew. Did they or any houseguest ever voice any negative opinion about your sexual orientation? If so, what did they say?

RAGAN: Absolutely not...

 

USTH: Did you put any pressure on yourself to represent yourself in a certain way on behalf of the gay community?  If so, in what ways, and do you think you succeeded?

RAGAN: I went in not wanting to be the crying gay guy and I ended up crying a lot on the show, but I was also a very fierce competitor.  I think I embody a lot of contradictions in my day-to-day life and that's just one example.  Ultimately, I can only hope that gay fans of the show respect the game I played.

 

USTH: Tell us some things that you did or accomplished in the Big Brother house that you feel particularly proud of.

RAGAN: Forming my friendship with Matt is at the top of my list.  Getting through that argument with Rachel without cursing once.  My performance in the endurance comps and winning the puzzle veto by such a large margin.

 

USTH: How do you think the Big Brother experience has changed you?

RAGAN: Wow!  Some people will walk out and look at it as nothing more than a game and an opportunity to win a half a million dollars, but to me this has always been more about the experience than about the money or being on TV. This game has forced me to acknowledge and evaluate what I value in myself and other people.

 

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions, Ragan!  I'm sure all of your fans appreciated the chance to hear your thoughts and to get to know you better.

 

 
Weekend Box Office - August 27-29, 2010
Written by US Townhall staff   
Sunday, 29 August 2010 20:01

Takers (Image © 2010 Screen Gems)All five of last week's new releases crashed during their second weeks on the charts, while older entries, The Expendables, Eat Pray Love, and The Other Guys held better, and rounded out the top 5 with the two main new releases.  In a photo-finish, Takers squeaked past The Last Exorcism by less than $200,000 to nab the pole position.  Outside of the Fast and the Furious franchise, actor Paul Walker has never exactly been a huge box office draw, and Takers is pretty much on par with his stronger openings – that is, on the low side for an action flick.  The Last Exorcism, Hollywood's latest attempt to score another Exorcist-like hit has met the same fate as every other attempt since the original: relative indifference on the part of the mass audience.  As for the aforementioned The Expendables, no Stallone movie (we don't count Spy Kids 3D: Game Over) has made over $100 million at the North American box office in 25 years.  Could The Expendables break the curse?  It's going to be close and very interesting to watch.

Next week, three more dumped movies open, none of which is likely to take in significantly more than $20 million in its opening: George Clooney's The Last American, Drew Barrymore's Going the Distance, and The Machete starring Danny Trejo. 

 

Here are the domestic box office actuals for the weekend of August 27-29, 2010:

 

Title

Weekend Gross

(US+Canada)

change from

last week

Total Gross

1

Takers

 (Screen Gems)

$20,512,304 debut $20,512,304
2

The Last Exorcism

(Lionsgate Films)

$20,366,613 debut $20,366,613
3

The Expendables

(Lionsgate Films)

$9,527,937 -43.8% $82,040,183
4

Eat Pray Love

(Sony Pictures)

$6,815,555 -43.7% $60,531,326
5

The Other Guys

(Sony Pictures)

$6,285,712 -38.2% $99,018,172
6

Vampires Suck

(20th Century Fox)

$5,221,780 -57.2% $27,834,256
7

Inception

(Warner Bros.)

$4,876,356 -37.8% $270,519,920
8

Nanny McPhee Returns

 (Universal)

$4,714,215 -43.9% $16,991,285
9

The Switch

 (Miramax)

$4,583,481 -45.7% $16,410,009
10

Piranha 3D

(Weinstein Company)

$4,302,878 -57.4% $18,266,889
11

Avatar: The Special Edition

(20th Century Fox)

$4,007,750 debut $4,007,750
12

Lottery Ticket

(Warner Bros.)

$3,854,303 -63.8% $17,284,641

 

 
DVD Spotlight on: MPI HOME VIDEO
Written by US Townhall staff   
Thursday, 26 August 2010 01:14

MPI Home Video distributes numerous special interest DVDs including classic TVFounded in 1976 by brothers Waleed and Malik Ali, Chicago's MPI Home Video (part of MPI Media Group) has issued an array of classic television series and specials on DVD over the last several years.  Many of their titles are longtime cult favorites that hold special places in the hearts of generations of television viewers.  While we often shine the spotlight on the major releases from the big studios and home video distributors, we are also firmly committed to expanding our coverage of the DVD marketplace to include the smaller, independent video distributors who publish a variety of offbeat and interesting titles.

 

What follows is our exclusive look at some of the more praiseworthy titles released by MPI Home Video that could easily find a place in the homes of serious DVD collectors.

 

Read more...
 
62nd Annual PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS
Written by US Townhall staff   
Sunday, 29 August 2010 22:49

The 62nd Annual Primetime Emmys were conducted Sunday night, August 29, 2010 and were presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS).  The three-hour ceremony honoring the best in American television was hosted by Jimmy Fallon.

 

The tally for the awards is as follows:

HBO: 101 nominations Discovery Channel: 14 nominations Disney Channel: 5 nominations Nickelodeon: 2 nominations
ABC: 63 nominations Lifetime: 11 nominations DirecTV: 4 nominations Sundance Channel: 2 nominations

CBS: 57 nominations

FX Networks: 9 nominations USA: 4 nominations BET: 1 nomination

FOX: 48 nominations

Comedy Central: 8 nominations TNT: 3 nominations EPIXHD: 1 nomination

NBC: 46 nominations

Cartoon Network: 7 nominations A&E: 2 nominations National Geographic Channel: 1 nomination

PBS: 32 nominations

Bravo: 6 nominations Animal Planet: 2 nominations TCM: 1 nomination
AMC: 26 nominations History Channel: 6 nominations IFC: 2 nominations Travel Channel: 1 nomination
Showtime: 23 nominations SyFy: 6 nominations

 

But who actually won? Click here to see the full list of EMMY WINNERS!
 
PALEY CENTER, 2010: Farewell to AS THE WORLD TURNS
Written by Scott Katz   
Thursday, 19 August 2010 00:35

As the World Turns logo (Image © 2010 Procter & Gamble)On Wednesday, August 18 at the Paley Center for Media in midtown Manhattan, cast members and fans of the long-running serial drama, As the World Turns, gathered to say goodbye to this venerable television institution.  Created by legendary television pioneer, Irna Phillips, and debuting on CBS-TV on Monday, April 2, 1956, As the World Turns will have aired a staggering 13,858 episodes when it goes off the air for good on Friday, September 17, 2010.

Just as with the Guiding Light farewell event hosted by the Paley Center in 2009 (which was also covered by USTownhall.com), the evening began with a red carpet photo op at approximately 6:00pm.  By 6:30, the cast of As the World Turns and their fans had made their way to the downstairs theater at the Paley Center in order to participate in a Q&A session hosted by Paley Center Curator, Ron Simon.

This was not the first As the World Turns event to be held at Paley.  In 1996, ATWT's 40th anniversary was celebrated there, and in 2006, Paley commemorated the soap's 50th by staging a recreation of the first script from April 2, 1956.  It was performed by Helen Wagner (Nancy Hughes) and Don Hastings (Dr. Bob Hughes), who played mother and son since Hastings took over the role in 1960.  Sadly, Ms. Wagner, an original cast member who spoke the very first line of dialogue on the series premiere in 1956, died from cancer at the age of 91 on May 1, 2010, missing the series' final episode taping which took place about 7 weeks later on June 23, 2010.

What follows are our exclusive photos from the night as well as a summary of the Q&A panel.

Click here to see our EXCLUSIVE photos of the gala once-in-a-lifetime event!
 
«StartPrev12345678NextEnd»

Page 1 of 8