Question: During the scene where the kids are eating in the diner and they are talking about the train crash, you can see Joe's father getting out of his police car across the street at the Auto Sales lot. I've noticed in movies that they don't usually have a major character appear in a scene without a reason, even in the background. So it makes me wonder if they cut out some interaction with Joe's father in the diner, or if this diner scene was originally intended to appear at a different point in the film, such as when Joe's father visits the car lot when the owner is complaining about things missing from his cars. I've watched my DVD many times, and I only just noticed this. Now I'm dying to know.
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Answer: The explanation for the police car going into the auto dealership when Joe and friends are at the dinner is provided by J.J. Abrams in the "Commentary": "As it was originally written, you [audience] were simultaneously with the father going into the car dealership... umm... and with the kids in the diner. We ended up moving the structure around. So, it wasn't... umm. It was no longer simultaneous." Abrams said that the kids had been rehearsing at the table. Filming the auto dealership scene was finished so they went ahead and filmed the kids at the diner, too.
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