Perhaps it inspired the real event. I believe I recall reading that after the movie "Money train" showed a robber spraying a flammable liquid through the money exchange opening at a ticket booth, and then threatened to light the teller on fire, some real life @$$hole did exactly the same thing.
Maybe someone watched the show, and told Bin Laden about it? Now of course I don't know how long the planning went on for 911, but it seems to me that six months would probably have been enough.
Perhaps. The imagery may have helped solidify al Qaedas target list, or at very least provided encouragement to the terrorists who committed the acts.