There was recently an open audition for the upcoming Hobbit films that ended with police. My guess is the casting call was for extras but when more than 3,000 hopefuls turned up, things got out of hand. When they were initially expecting around 1,000 applicants to appear, they were overwhelmed with the extra 2,000 that ended up turning up. Peter Jackson, director of the two part prequel to the massively popular Lord of the Rings trilogy issued a casting call for a part in the film over this past weekend. The audition took place in Lower Hutt, which is near the capital city of Wellington in New Zealand. But the small town ended up being overrun with casting hopefuls and the audition had to be shut down.

Police were called to control the overwhelming horde of people trying to get any available part. Due to concerns with safety, the police decided to shut down early. Local police Senior Sergeant Steve Braybrook tells the NZ Newswire,

”There was enough concern that police attended … (and the organizers decided to) call it quits.”

According to 3News, only about 800 hopefuls made it into the audition room. There is no word yet as to what the part was for or who was cast in it, but judging by the turnout, it must have been pretty great.

The official plot of the film according to Warner Bros. Pictures:

The adventure follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever…Gollum.

Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities … A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

The film is being split up into two parts to be released a year apart.

The two parts, titled The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again, are being filmed back to back and are in production in New Zealand; principal photography began on 21 March 2011. They are scheduled to be released on 14 December 2012 and 13 December 2013, respectively.