car used the name of the Ford Taurus though its design and concept is more similar to the General Motors EV1 an electric car that was leased by General Motors between 1996 and 1999 in select U.S. markets. In the episode, there are many references to popular culture. The character Rainier Wolfcastle is seen filming Saving Irene Ryan, which is a reference to the 1998 film Saving Private Ryan, with The Beverly Hillbillies actress Irene Ryan. Homer says, "You had me at 'hello'," a quote from the film Jerry Maguire (1996), when Gibson asks for his help on his film. The airport is called "George Kennedy Airport", which is a reference to actor George Kennedy, and his role in the film Airport (1970) and its three sequels; Airport 1975 (1974), Airport '77 (1977) and The Concorde ... Airport '79 (1979). When Homer asked Gibson to drive, He said to him. "I'm tired of running away. Did Braveheart run away? Did Payback run away? Did Ransom run away? It's time we showed those suits what we're made of." When Homer and Gibson are being hunted by the executives they enter a car museum. The museum features the Batmobile from the television series Batman, General Lee from the series The Dukes of Hazzard, Herbie the Love Bug from the 1968 film The Love Bug and later films, the Monkeemobile from the series The Monkees, the Munster Koach from the series The Munsters, and the car from the series The Flintstones. At one point, Marge notices Robert Downey Jr. shooting at the police and thinking he's filming a new action movie before Bart points out that he doesn't see any cameras, alluding to how, at the time the episode was made, Downey was repeatedly in trouble with the law. Both Nine Months and the Brown Derby were alluded to during the tour. Anne Heche and Ellen DeGeneres also make a cameo, where they declared their lesbianism, alluding to DeGeneres coming out a few years earlier. Marge also briefly expresses disgust when the tour guide mentions an infamous spot involving Hugh Grant prior to her making clear she's referring to the filming of Nine Months, indirectly referencing Grant's scandal involving Divine Brown at Sunset Boulevard. Release and reception The episode originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 26, 1999, as the premiere of the eleventh season of The Simpsons.