JACKSON FIRES HOBBIT CASTING MANAGER

A casting manager looking for extras to play Hobbits in the forthcoming Lord of the Rings prequel(s) The Hobbit has been fired after video footage caught him telling those who showed up for an open audition, “We are looking for light-skinned people. I’m not trying to be — whatever. It’s just the brief. You’ve got to look like a Hobbit.” A spokesman for producer/director Peter Jackson said that no such “brief” had been given the casting manager. The spokesman told the French wire service Agence France-Presse: “The crew member in question took it upon themselves to do that and it’s not something we instructed or condoned.” The controversial casting policy was brought to light when Naz Humphreys, a British citizen who is of Pakistani origin was quoted in the New Zealand newspaper The Waikato Times that she had been told that she was not suitable for an extra role because of her skin color.