Production of The Hobbit gets underway

The Hobbit's long, epic trek to cinema screens is officially underway as Guillermo Del Toro gears up towards principal filming.

After spending quite some time on the design and look of The Hobbit, Del Toro will begin actually filming the damn thing in June this year, with production of this two-part prequel to The Lord of the Rings set to continue for 14 months.

This means that, taking a cue from supervisor Peter Jackson, Del Toro will be working overtime as post-production for the first part will no doubt overlap with work on the second part. I'm sure the gazillion-dollar pay packet will make it all worthwhile though.

This also means that casting for the epic has just begun. No big name parts announced yet (apart from those already confirmed: Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis and Ian McKellen reprising their original Middle Earth roles) as Del Toro and Jackson instead welcome auditions for the extras, handing out advice such as:

Considering the open casting call, I'm guessing that these digital times allow them to hire anyone, rather than rely on real-life munchkins. It's probably for the best, as the long production is bound to clash with many pantomime schedules.

So who's up for it? Let's get a group together and fly out for a chance to be a dead dwarf.