The official hunt for extras in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings will begin this weekend.”Official [casting calls] will be held shortly.Ads will probably be placed this week,” a WingNut Films spokeswoman said.

The extra’s call will be held at Te Whaea:National Dance and Drama Centre in Newtown, the former Wellington Show buildings, on Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 4pm. But she warned that a casting call being run today by AKA Screen Actors in Manners Mall wasn’t official. Unofficial casting calls have been held around the country since Jackson announced the $266 million project last August.

The calls attracted film wannabes in their thousands, prompting the production company to issue numerous warnings that the people recruited had no guarantees they would be considered for the project.The offical hunt for film extras will be run this weekend by Three Foot Six Production company.The spokeswoman said Jackson was still in the process of casting leads. AKA Screen Actors couldn’t be contacted.