MOVIE (SS vs. Columbus)/Distribution of students in houses

[blpurdom at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 26078

Warning: This is dangerously on-topic.  Brace yourselves.

Luke wrote:

Personally--and I know I may be stepping on some toes here--, I never 
really wanted to see Spielburg direct HP. I would've been highly 
concerned if he was. He's a good director, but that's not the point. 
Everything I've seen seems to indicate to me that he is a very
opinionated director which is why a lot of people would classify him 
as one of the more visionary directors. But being opinionated can be 
very problematic if you're supposed to be doing a faithful 
adaptation. [snippage] Chris Columbus, on the other hand, seems to
have been a good, though unlikely-seeming choice. At first I had my 
reservations since he didn't really have the typical sort of 
background (unless you maybe count his screenplays) for this kind of 
film. After all, there's nothing in Home Alone or Mrs. Doubtfire or 
even Bicentennial Man to give any proof that Columbus possessed any 
sort of strong visual style at all.  

Barb now: 

I'd like to use an analogy here that is debated often in the field 
I'll be entering when I'm eventually done my studies: 
architecture/design.  There are a number of designers who will
create a structure and never leave you in any doubt as to who the 
designer is.  Their stamp is on it in an unmistakable way.  And if it 
has always been your dream to live or work in a structure designed by 
Frank Gehry, or Robert A.M. Stern or the Hariri sisters or Alison
Spear or Venturi Scott Brown or Michael Graves or Peter Marino that's 
GREAT!  But if you want a design that reflects you and your tastes 
and preferences, you might do better to look for a designer who does 
not have a reputation for always doing work that looks the same, who 
lets the client's aesthetic shine through, and who, to all intents and
purposes, does not seem to have a style "stamp."  In other words, I 
support the choice of Columbus because he stands a chance of being 
able to "channel" Harry and JKR for the viewer, not Chris Columbus.  
I love what I've seen so far and I'm waiting with baited breath for 
November 16.

Denise wrote: 

I too assumed that the houses were all the same size. That could also 
explain the reason why Griffindor & Slytherin are placed in classes 
together. 

Barb now:

While I think the classes of kids born during the Voldemort years 
stand a good chance of being smaller (birth years 1972-1981--1970 and 
1971 seem too early for people to panic about having kids, even 
though Voldemort was active for those two years) I think that
these years would have fewer kids across all four houses and that it 
is unlikely that most of the students are Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs.

My reasoning lies in the House Cup competition.  If there were more 
students in the other houses, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff would have 
more opportunities to acquire points through academic excellence, 
among other things (especially the brainy Ravenclaws).  As
the competition usually seems to come down to Slytherin vs. 
Gryffindor, which under this theory would have the fewest students, 
an imbalance of students in the houses seems unlikely.

--Barb