Hollywood and the Crystal Ball Effect

There are many examples of how truth is stranger than fiction. But even more interesting is how truth seems to follow fiction. If Nostradamus were alive today, would he be writing for TV and movies?

Missing kid? Check the barn!

Every year, there seems to be another "child stuck in well" drama being played out somewhere in the U.S. While everyone hopes for the very best, it was a film with a character convinced he knew what would happen in the future that sent the message that a little bit of cynicism can't hurt, either.

1995

In the riveting "12 Monkeys", Bruce Willis, as the frenzied time traveler, is driving with the Doctor he is trying to convince of the impending catastrophe that will befall the earth. After hearing a news story on the radio about a boy who was trapped in a well, Willis comments "he's in the barn."

It's only later that everyone finds out about the "prank" and discovers the boy safe and sound. . . Hiding in a nearby barn.

2009

The nation was captivated by the story of the boy carried aloft in the helium balloon/ "flying saucer." Prayers for his safe return to earth were answered, but it wasn't the "standard" Hollywood ending everyone expected. After a frantic search and hours of breaking news coverage, the 6 year old (along with the thrilling story) came back to earth when he was found hiding. . . In a nearby attic.

Fiction becomes reality at airports these days

If new airport procedures seem strangely familiar, it's because we've seen them before. Ideas like full-body scans and trading privacy to keep air travel safe have been were given the Hollywood treatment years ago.

1990

In the Schwarzeneggerr blockbuster Total Recall (1990), the lead character engages in a gun battle from within a full-size x-ray body scanning device (at an airport) as he attempts his escape to Mars

June, 2001

Candid Camera's Peter Funt posed as a security guard in a gag that involved a "fully body scan" and sent unsuspecting passengers through a fake x-ray machine. One unhappy participant, a passenger at Mojave Airport, was awarded $300,000 by a jury for enduring such humiliation.

2010

Currently, there are several lawsuits being considered against the x-ray technology being used in airports during full body scans. Of course, there is a big difference: Funt's passengers were forced to lie prone on a conveyor belt for their "scan."

And, while the Total Recall scanner featured true X-ray technology (down to the bare bones) today's scanners don't penetrate quite that deeply, but the eerie similarities remain.