Markus writes: I know that a lot of people are extremely interested to hear from the extra casting in Wellington today. Well, I was there. But as we all had to sign a non-disclosure agreement I have to keep it vague and can only tell the obvious, visible from the outside and some heart-warming stories. There was some press-folks around and I noticed that they managed to find people telling them what happened, so I guess it will be in the news soon. It’s really not that exciting, though.
I was amongst the first people to get in and met some very friendly staff from 6 Foot 7. Everything was very organized and it didn’t take long. The biggest challenge for some people to get in was already at the entrance: Are you really tall enough? A quick check showed that 1m does not have to be the same everywhere. Even the impressive high heels of some of the girls had to be taken off and everyone became equal when trying to pass the minimum height line. Despite of that some people managed to sneak in, I don’t know what happened to them.
I felt very sorry for one guy that just came for the casting from Missouri, USA but wasn’t tall enough. I hope he will spend some time in NZ before he flies back to enjoy the country. One woman brought a sword, which was completely ignored. I guess it must have been noticed at least. Surprisingly between 8:30 and 12:00 only very normal people showed up, no elves, no warriors, no costumes. Maybe they all came in the afternoon?
It was impossible to count the people that queued, but at about ten the line was around the corner and up the hill. I estimate a 1000 people as a minimum would have shown up at the end of the day.
For me the whole thing was completed after about 15 minutes. I am of good cheer to be able to watch The Hobbit one day, knowing that the elf in the very background of one scene is me.
