10 Insane Movie Plots That Actually Happened In Real Life
8. Stephen King Predicts Donald Trump's Reign - The Dead Zone
Returning to a less satisfying example of life imitating art, Stephen King very much sensed all the way back in 1979 that the concept of a ruthless businessman unexpectedly rising through the political ranks and amassing a loyal following thanks to their eccentric ways and controversial speeches could one day become a reality.
And while the iconic author would admit that he didn't think his novel The Dead Zone - that would later be adapted for the big-screen in 1983 - specifically predicted how Donald Trump would find a way to captivate the masses to the point of becoming the U.S. President when forging the egomaniacal character of Greg Stillson, he would note to Now This in 2019:
"...if that reminds people of Trump, I can't be sorry because it was a character that I wrote. It was a boogeyman of mine, and I never actually wanted to see him on the American political scene, but we do seem to have a Greg Stillson as President of the United States."
And King would once again allude to both Stillson and Trump being cut from the same cloth back in 2016 on Twitter, too, posting that "Populist demagogues like He Who Must Not Be Named aren't a new thing; see THE DEAD ZONE, published 37 years ago."
Populist demagogues like He Who Must Not Be Named aren't a new thing; see THE DEAD ZONE, published 37 years ago.— Stephen King (@StephenKing) March 15, 2016