Hobbit auditions called off after swarms of hopefuls turn up

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Thousands of Hobbit hopefuls turned away from a casting call in Wellington on Saturday have been told not to give up.

Police called off the auditions after swarms of Hobbit wannabes caused traffic problems on State Highway Two near Belmont.

Many travelled from other regions for the chance to appear in the much-anticipated film.

Chris Ryan, a crowd wrangler at the casting call, wasn't expecting so many Hobbit hopefuls.

"There's a lot of parking there and there's actually quite a lot of room but as the day went on basically the line got so long," he says.

"It was just starting to cause a few problems on the motorway, people slowing down and looking at the crowds really I think more than anything else."

Mr Ryan says the auditions ran smoothly apart from the early closure.

"No problems, the crowds were pretty good, most of them were pretty sensible and had set up, they brought umbrellas and chairs and sunblock and that."

Organisers have promised to continue their casting search online.