[HPFGU-Movie] Is Chris Columbus to return?????

[GulPlum]

At 22:57 21/02/03 , Nia <penumbra10 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>I hope someone, perhaps that dashing 'Knight of the Last Word,'
>Richard, can asuage my fears.

I hope that's not me you're talking about. :-) I can live with "dashing", 
but I'm not sure I want to be anyone's "Knight of the Last Word". :-)

>It appears that Chris Columbus will return to apply his vapid paint-
>by-numbers directing style to GoF.

<snip the rest>

I know nothing more than was implied in that article. I share your concerns 
that Columbus might want to be back for GoF, am I'm hoping (with fingers 
crossed) that the paragraph in question is down to a mix of journalistic 
hyperbole and wishful thinking.

The article came from a small local paper in Northumberland (covering both 
Alnwick Castle and Durham Cathedral) and it's only natural that they're 
concerned about the loss of revenue the HP productions have provided over 
the last couple of years. I'm hoping that the article is more an expression 
of their desire for Columbus to return, rather than any specific knowledge 
that he will.

In any case, I doubt that the decision for no PoA filming to be done there 
is down to Cuaron.

Alnwick was used for the Quidditch pitch and the Hogwarts grounds. Although 
there are three Quidditch matches in the book (and although I'd like them 
to keep all three in, I suspect that they're going to find a way to show 
only one judging by their efforts to date), they don't need the Alnwick 
grounds, as it's all digital effects  anyway. They also don't need to use 
the grounds as most of the action happens in classes or the Gryffindor 
Common Room, all of which have standing sets at Leavesden.

Durham Cathedral was used for some of the cloister shots (the main ones 
were in Gloucester) and I don't think I've read anything about not filming 
in Gloucester; besides there probably won't be many shots in those areas.

In any case, I suspect that their love for Columbus and their hope that 
he'll come back to make GoF there, is somewhat misplaced. There is no 
Quidditch (except for the QWC, which needs different scenery, so Alnwick 
won't be needed anyway). The Quidditch pitch only appears for the final 
challenge and is overgrown with hedges, so it's not needed for that either. 
To coincide with the darker storyline, I expect the GoF film to feature 
very little daytime outdoor filming, so it can all be done on the standing 
sets.

So if Columbus does come back to make GoF, it'll probably be the worst of 
both worlds: we fans probably won't be happy, and neither will the 
Northumberland economy...

--
GulPlum AKA Richard, who doesn't know which is the worse prospect: Columbus 
directing or of Kloves writing GoF... Together, they're an abomination.