Ack! That was something I noticed, too. I always imagined Hobbits as being round, chubby little things. Except for Samwise, they were all so skinny!!! That's not the impression I got from the books.
The Last Airbender casting was ludicrous. It was obviously set in an Asian culture, and the actors should have been Asian. The fact that they cast Caucasians... so stupid on so many levels.
I see the characters of LotR as being cast from a old-European culture (we do know that's how Tolkien designed it), so Caucasian makes sense... but for extras in a crowd? More flexibility.
But yeah, I think there's a fair chance that they used this casting guy as a scapegoat. I CAN'T know for sure... but... *sigh*.
But yes, Hollywood hiring is all about looks - everything from height to weight to race. Hell, in the world of costuming, we have a concept called "Costuming to Body Type." The best competition costumes are pieces and characters that YOU RESEMBLE. As much as it would be AWESOME to play a Klingon... look at me. I'm 5'1". I'd make a better Ferengi. I'd love to cosplay as an Elf from LotR, but I'm short with curly hair, so I'd be an idiot not to play a Hobbit. And in Star Trek, even if I wanted to costume as Uhura because she's awesome and badass... I just can't. Sometimes... if we're playing with specific characters... there are limitations. Hollywood is even more strict.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2010-11-30 08:19 pm (UTC)The Last Airbender casting was ludicrous. It was obviously set in an Asian culture, and the actors should have been Asian. The fact that they cast Caucasians... so stupid on so many levels.
I see the characters of LotR as being cast from a old-European culture (we do know that's how Tolkien designed it), so Caucasian makes sense... but for extras in a crowd? More flexibility.
But yeah, I think there's a fair chance that they used this casting guy as a scapegoat. I CAN'T know for sure... but... *sigh*.
But yes, Hollywood hiring is all about looks - everything from height to weight to race. Hell, in the world of costuming, we have a concept called "Costuming to Body Type." The best competition costumes are pieces and characters that YOU RESEMBLE. As much as it would be AWESOME to play a Klingon... look at me. I'm 5'1". I'd make a better Ferengi. I'd love to cosplay as an Elf from LotR, but I'm short with curly hair, so I'd be an idiot not to play a Hobbit. And in Star Trek, even if I wanted to costume as Uhura because she's awesome and badass... I just can't. Sometimes... if we're playing with specific characters... there are limitations. Hollywood is even more strict.