Useless Movie Trivia For
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Memorable Movie Quotes
Hannah Ásgeirsson: No one gets dibs on the mountain guide.
Trivia
Indie film maker Paul Chart (American Perfekt) was originally signed to write and direct the picture and penned the original script. Chart left the project, however, after a decision was made to shoot the film in 3-D, uncomfortable with the possibility it would become more 'theme park ride' than the epic action-adventure film he envisioned. The Jules Verne novel was apparently one of his favorite pieces of literature. Chart was ultimately replaced with effects specialist Eric Brevig and the script was heavily retooled to emphasize the new 3-D format.
When Trevor opens the box of stuff belonging to his lost brother, he pulls out an odd wooden item, declares that he doesn't know what it is, and sets it aside. The item is a Holmes Stereoscope, a device designed in 1861 by the American physician and writer, Oliver Wendell Holmes, for the viewing of so-called "stereocards". A stereocard is like a postcard which has a Left-view and Right-view photograph mounted alongside one another. When viewed through this stereoscope, the photographs are merged into one 3-D image (which was later adopted for the ViewMaster viewers and cards). The Holmes Stereoscope was a great source of entertainment in the Victorian era. It was, in a sense, the Home Entertainment Centre of its day, as it transported its users to exotic places all over the world. People bought packs of stereocards for their entertainment - in much the same way as we buy DVDs today! (Thus, a character in a 3-D movie having no idea what a stereoscope is, makes for a cute little 3-D in-joke...)
The Trevor character's brother is named for famous playwright Maxwell Anderson.
Goofs
Hannah says "there are no roads to the north". If she means there are no roads to the Snaefells Glacier, she is wrong. Anyone can drive a regular car within 500 meters of it.
Trevor drops a light stick into a pit and asks Sean to time how long it takes to fall to the bottom. It takes three seconds, and Trevor announces that that makes makes the pit "almost 200 feet" deep. The formula for the height an object falls in a given time is 0.5*g*t^2 (g=the force of gravity=32ft/s^2; t=time). This works out to a height of 144 feet for an object falling for three seconds, which is hardly "almost 200 feet."
Trevor identifies the luminous birds as a species that went extinct "...150 million years ago." However, the oldest known bird, Archaeopteryx, emerged between 150-145 million years ago, meaning that they went extinct before the oldest known bird, appears in the fossil record.
When Hannah rolls over at the end of the ride in the mine, a loop of rope is over her right breast. Seconds later, the rope is gone.
The Snæfellsnes Peninsula, where the party makes its descent, is a volcanic zone. They wouldn't be able to get very far down without reaching lava.
A rock wall contains raw diamonds, rubies, and emeralds. The diamonds are clear and already cut. They should look like dull yellow pebbles.
When Trevor tries to ignite the magnesium with a flare, he claims that it's "...too wet...". Magnesium burns in water, producing magnesium oxide and hydrogen - in fact, pouring water on burning magnesium intensifies the fire; the most effective way to douse a magnesium fore is to cover it with sand or dry dirt.
While Sean is Googling in the airplane, he types without an on-screen keyboard. The PSP's only method of text input is through the triple-tap on-screen keyboard.
When they find the equipment left behind by an earlier expedition, Trevor remarks that it is "...state of the art... for a century ago." He's off by almost fifty years. Verne's novel was published in 1868, and he described the events as taking place in the year 1863. Anyone who was as familiar with the book as Trevor is supposed to be would know this.
In The Credits
At the end of the movie, the bird flies out of the picture and creates a bright flash. Following it, are the end credits where the bird's feathers drift slowly down.
As the credits are rolling a flare with a burning fuse appears. When the credits end. The flare explodes.
Box Office Info USA
Budget $45,000,000
Gross: $101,702,060
Filming Locations
Cité du Cinéma, Montréal, Québec, Canada
(as Mel's Cite du Cinema)
Iceland
Montréal, Québec, Canada
Québec, Canada
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada