Caught on the Cam: Mousy McCallum

By Bonnie Burton

If fans watched the webcam closely during principal photography on the Episode III set in Sydney, Australia, they may have caught sight of Mousy McCallum, nicknamed "Script Girl" by webcam fans. McCallum spent much of her time on the Sydney set, helping around the production offices at Fox Studios, watching actors' performances while sitting with George Lucas and crew on the set, and is set to make her film debut in Episode III as the young Jedi Padawan, Bene.

As the daughter of Producer Rick McCallum, sixteen-year-old Mousy is no stranger to the inner workings of the Star Wars universe, visiting the Attack of the Clones set in Sydney previously. However, this time on the set for Ep. III, Mousy took a more active role and ended up with a rather interesting nickname thanks to webcam viewers.

"I got the name Script Girl unintentionally from the fans that were watching me on the webcam one day," McCallum recalls. "I was sitting in the production office and counting pages of scripts while the cam was directly on me. Little did I know that the next day, I was crowned Script Girl by the people who were watching me for about two hours straight!"

In addition to her work in the production office, McCallum could also be spotted on the set driving golf carts from stage to stage, as well as occasionally working in the Prop Department -- as a project, she wired some of the blinking lights that adorn the Trade Federation cruiser set and Palpatine's office. During the shoot, Mousy became close friends with Natalie Portman's stand-in, Holly Stringer.

"We hit it off right away when I saw her wearing toe-socks," McCallum laughs. "I knew we'd be best friends after that."

When McCallum discovered she would be appearing as a brief cameo in Ep. III as Bene, she worked closely with Stunt Coordinator Nick Gillard and his crew of stuntmen to learn the ways of the lightsaber.

"Hands down, the most fun I've ever had was with those guys," McCallum says. "They are the nicest people and so much fun to be around -- never a dull moment. I spent most of my time with them, practicing my young Jedi moves."

Since principal photography wrapped in Sydney, McCallum still continues her work in the post-production phase of Episode III as an intern for the Lucasfilm Documentary Department. Even though she makes her acting debut as a young Padawan, McCallum says she'd rather follow in her father's footsteps as a producer.

"I definitely do not want to go into acting," McCallum confesses. "I couldn't go into that profession to save my life. I think it takes a whole lot more concentration and focus than I will ever be able to have. I do want to go into film though, and take after Big Rick -- behind the camera, not in front of it."