[Glenethor]

I think it's rubbish. PJ would never say that publicly, even if it was true.<P>As for the question, I think PJ did quite well with the casting. I have the advantage of knowing only a couple of the players from other things...Rys-Davies and Christopher Lee are really the only members of the cast who I have seen in other things. So, I don't see 'Agent Elrond' when I see Weaving; Never saw any of McKellen's other work, although I want to see 'Apt Pupil,' taken from the King novella, so nothing interferes with his presentation of Gandalf. Oh yeah, I saw Bean in Patriot Games, but that also didn't interfere with his representation of Boromir. Only after, when someone mentioned that he tries to incorporate the word 'sharp' into anything he does, did it affect my perception of what he was doing. The scene in which he picks up Narsil, saying 'still sharp,' now detracts slightly from my experience. PJ runs the danger of too many in jokes. However: I think PJ wanted a really competent cast, as opposed to a 'headliner driven' cast, and I think he achieved it, for the most part.