The Simpsons Predicts History. Again.
Remember the time in 1999 when The Simpsons humorously predicted Donald Trump would become president? That same episode (season 11, episode 17, “Bart to the Future”) also hinted at another future event: Lisa Simpson becoming the first female president, wearing a purple pantsuit and white pearls strikingly similar to Kamala Harris' outfit at the 2021 inauguration.
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| Can Kamala Harris swear that her 2021 inauguration outfit wasn’t inspired by Lisa Simpson? Gabrielle Lurie/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images; 20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection |
Mike Scully, a longtime Simpsons writer, recalls, “The pantsuit may have been a nod to Hillary Clinton, or we were just aiming for a power look.” The choice of purple? “It was likely random, possibly chosen by the animators.” As for the pearls, Scully notes, “Lisa always wears them.”
The Simpsons has a notable history of predicting real events. A 1993 episode foresaw the 2003 Siegfried & Roy tiger attack; another from the same year depicted a COVID-like virus spreading from Japan to Springfield (the “Osaka Flu”); and a 1998 episode predicted the Fox-Disney merger. Regarding the Trump joke, Scully explains the writers were brainstorming “crazy names” for the most improbable person America could elect. “Someone said Donald Trump.”
— ALEX WEPRIN
Michael Jackson Drew These Pictures. Or Maybe He Didn’t.
Adding to the list of potentially inauthentic aspects of Michael Jackson’s life are his doodles. On August 3, Kings Auctions will be selling 78 artworks purportedly by the King of Pop—drawings of fruit, etchings of Queen Elizabeth—in Beverly Hills.
However, Jackson might not have created them. These pictures have been stored in a hangar at Santa Monica Airport for years, belonging to Brett-Livingstone Strong, an Australian artist and friend of Jackson during his final years. A California court recently ordered Strong’s collection to be sold at auction, even though Jackson’s estate doubts their authenticity.
“We went to the hangar,” says estate attorney Jonathan Steinsapir, “and had questions. We asked for evidence. Because it just didn’t ring true.” There is evidence that Jackson gifted paintings to Strong; Kings Auctions has letters from Jackson regarding artworks, though none specifically refer to the pieces up for sale. Kings hopes to sell the entire collection for a million dollars. If a buyer isn’t found at that price, they’ll auction the pieces individually, with each starting at $9,999.
— NICOLE FELL
NATO’s Disappearing Data: Where’d the Numbers Go?
Entertainment reporters have noticed something mysterious at the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO). The organization, now under Michael O’Leary’s leadership, has overhauled its website, removing extensive data that included annual domestic box office revenue for the past two decades.
One theory is that theater owners, unhappy with the post-pandemic slump in moviegoing, opted to make these numbers less accessible to avoid highlighting the bad news. Now, anyone seeking this information must request it via email, which NATO is willing to provide.
This development coincides with another curious disappearance: the Motion Picture Association (MPA) is no longer releasing its annual THEME report, which also contained comprehensive industry data. When questioned at CinemaCon, MPA chief Charles Rivkin said the report would be available once they figured out how to incorporate streaming data. NATO declined to comment.
— PAMELA MCCLINTOCK
Is Amber Heard’s Private Eye More Captivating Than She Is?
Typically, Rambling Reporter doesn’t delve into self-published books, but this one stands out. Private investigator Paul Barresi, who has worked with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Eddie Murphy, has published a memoir called Johnny Depp’s Accidental Fixer: How a Hollywood Sleuth Saved a Pirate’s Honor. The book chronicles his time investigating for Amber Heard during her legal battles with Johnny Depp.
While the memoir includes plenty of gossip, the most intriguing parts focus less on Heard or Depp (the only revelation about Depp was that he was "a great guy") and more on Barresi himself. At 75, Barresi boasts a varied career that spans a role in James Ivory’s The Wild Party opposite Raquel Welch in 1975, a ten-year stint as a porn star (he’s the only male to have appeared on the cover of Hustler), and an apprenticeship with Anthony Pellicano, which led him into private investigation.
“People might think it’s a big leap from adult films to private detective work,” Barresi tells THR, “but it wasn’t. My niche was handling sexually related issues. Who better for that than a former porn actor?”
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