As if by magic, the Hogwarts Express has come to the rescue of a stranded family in Scotland.
The train that took Harry Potter to school was represented onscreen by the Jacobite steam train, which runs on a remote route through the Scottish Highlands. On Friday, it made an unscheduled stop to pick up a family of six that was stranded when a storm washed away their canoe.
Jon Cluett, his wife and four children ages 6 to 12 were staying in a lakeside hut when they awoke to find their canoe gone. Faced with walking several miles over boggy ground to get back to their car, Cluett called police.
He quoted a policeman: "We've arranged for the next train passing to stop for you, and you're not going to believe this, but it's the Hogwarts Express steam train. Your kids are going to love it."
Cluett said his children, all Harry Potter fans, were "really excited" by the adventure.
"They know the Harry Potter films and they know that they are filmed in the Highlands," he said. "But they hadn't put all of that together in their heads until they saw the train."
'SNL' goes after Weinstein
NBC's "Saturday Night Live" gave Harvey Weinstein a pass the first time. But the disgraced movie mogul wasn't quite so lucky this past week. "Weekend Update" tossed off a few barbs targeting Weinstein and his fall amid numerous accusations of sexual assault. Colin Jost proposed that rather than the rehab Weinstein has pledged to undergo, jail would be more fitting. Michael Che suggested that his face resembles "chewed bubblegum rolled in cat hair." Earlier, a sketch depicted actresses discussing sexual harassment. Kate McKinnon as a dotty Hollywood veteran recalled being invited to Weinstein's hotel room where he was naked and hanging upside down, trying to trick her into thinking his genitals were actually his face.
woody reacts: Woody Allen is addressing the wave of allegations against Harvey Weinstein, calling it "tragic for the poor women" but also warning against a "witch hunt atmosphere." Allen's comments to the BBC were published Sunday on the heels of Weinstein's expulsion from the Motion Picture Academy on Saturday. The director and producer worked together on several films in the 1990s, and Allen denied knowledge about any misconduct.Last week, Ronan Farrow, Allen's estranged son, published an article in the New Yorker recounting the stories of 13 women who say Weinstein sexually harassed or assaulted them since the 1990s. In 1993, Allen was accused of sexually abusing his 7-year-old daughter, Dylan Farrow.
