Clint Morris at Moviehole sends in the following report:

EMPIRE Australia exclusively talked to Star Wars Episode II : Attack of the Clones producer Rick McCallum about the film, due for release on Australian soil May 16th.

"We're in the fighting phase", McCallum says "Just before you enter the terror phase where it becomes 'Oh my God, are we going to be able to finish this?' But no, we're doing really, really well." The final edit has been cut too. "We basically do five cuts of the movie, but they are pretty ruthless," confirms McCallum.

"The running time is about the same as what we were on Episode I (132 Minutes), give or take a minute or two," he says. "We have got 1400 effects shots done and we have another 600 to go. But we're pumping em' out close to 40 or 50 a week. We're rocking".

"There is nothing that can equal Episode I," he levels. "If you were watching from the inside, it was almost unbearable because you realised there was no way you could fulfill it. I would say there is not the same overwhelming mania, but certainly there is a huge degree of interest".

Of character dynamics, he says "Episode I was always going to be a difficult thing because it starts off with the kid, and had to set up so much. But this takes us back to more familiar territory : you wanna find out how Anakin came to be who he is, what were the many events that shaped him, what made him make the choice. My mother had the same problem to face when I became a producer - Why did he go to the Dark Side?" he jokes.

Of Hayden Christensen showing Dark Side traits, McCallum says "I don't think anything has happened in Hayden's personal life that has manifested itself in that way, but there is definetly an instinct he understands, something about the downward spiral, that he taps in to. You'll see it. It doesn't manifest itself in this film completely - obviously that happens in Episode III - but there are many, many hints that something is not quite right with this boy."

Forget Anakin though, McCallum is boasting about Jango Fett. "He's the ultimate accessory dude. Forget all the b***s*** we know today - colour mobile phones - this dude knows how to party. He comes to it with everything. He's my favourite, he's my dream - the ability to walk into a studio meeting with the gear on and say 'Dude, I've got an idea'. If one of those young punks start with, 'Well, Rick...' BOOM! I would just open up...I can't tell you what I would open up, but it would be brilliant".