Rick McCallum

Richard McCallum (born 1952 in Heidelberg, Germany) is a film producer most famous for his work on the Star Wars prequel trilogy films and the Special Editions of the original trilogy.

Unlike most producers, McCallum has said he enjoys shooting on location (rather than on a soundstage) because he likes the feeling of not being in control and that anything can happen. While at Lucasfilm, McCallum sometimes joked that his sole purpose in life was to make what George Lucas wants to happen, happen.

Biography

McCallum with Hayden Christensen while filming at Lake Como for Attack of the Clones

McCallum with Hayden Christensen while filming at Lake Como for Attack of the Clones

He worked extensively with the British television writer Dennis Potter, producing much of Potter's later work in the late 1980s and early 1990s after Potter parted company with his long-term producer Kenith Trodd. He is the stepson of actor Michael York.

After meeting George Lucas in 1989, McCallum was hired as producer on Lucas's TV series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, which ran from 1992 to 1993 on ABC. He continued to be Lucas's producer until his retirement in 2012—producing 1994's Radioland Murders, the Special Editions of the original Star Wars trilogy, the compilation films of the Droids and Ewoks animated television series, the Star Wars prequel trilogy, and the Star Wars: Clone Wars animated television series. His daughter Mousy McCallum played the Padawan Bene in Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith.

In 2012, the same year that Lucasfilm was bought out by The Walt Disney Company, McCallum quietly retired from the company. His retirement was made public when Stephen J. Sansweet mentioned it in a podcast.

McCallum has a small cameo toward the end of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace.

Sources

Appearances