A casting director for Peter Jackson’s forthcoming film adaptations of The Hobbit has been dismissed for placing newspaper ads seeking extras with “light skin tones.†According to a spokesperson for Jackson’s production company, no specifications regarding skin color were ever made, and the crew member took it upon themselves to only audition actors with pale skin for hobbit characters. Apparently the casting director was under the impression that only white people could be hobbits, which is either racist or depressingly unimaginative. It’s hard to say! (It’s probably both.) [ArtsBeat/NYT]