Staff members on the Staten Island scene for the filming of Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds called her "the girl with the green Mustang," one of those extras hired to fill the film's crowd scenes. None knew that she was a member of the Central Jersey Ford and Mustang Club, and that when she was hired she began to report back to the club's members via a private internet forum, letting members in Hoboken, Weehawken, Kearny and throughout New Jersey and several other states share her experience.

While she was not the only member of the club involved in the production - the club's president was tapped as a consultant on critical sets at two locations in Bayonne - Papaleo was actually involved in action scenes filmed along the highways just on the other side of the Bayonne Bridge in Staten Island.

She, 21, of New York, agreed to recount her experiences on a Spielberg set in an interview with The Current - the entertainment newspaper for the Hudson Reporter chain.

She told the Reporter that the call for people to play extras for one of Spielberg directed shoots came at an opportune time. Spielberg was looking for people with cars. She did not know that the main character of the movie - played by Tom Cruise -- is supposed to be a member to the very car club to which belonged. She simply ran down to the casting call with her resume and photo in hand.

"There weren't many people there, so when I went up to talk to the casting guys, I wound up talking to one for a while about cars. We were talking about my car (1999 Electric Green Mustang Convertible) and Englishtown," she recalled.

She did not know at the time that Spielberg was featuring the Ford Mustang in the film. They told her if they needed her she would be contacted, and eight days later she was.

She got her Green Mustang on April 27, 2004 and kept it so well polished, there was some concern at the casting that it might be too bright for the scenes she was to play in. She said she has loved Mustangs since she was 15 years old when he boyfriend had pictures of Mustangs on his wall.

She and her Mustang reported for duty in mid-November at 5 a.m. for a shoot that lasted 12 hours. She had been directed to dress warm and in winter colors and no white shoes.

"They closed off the highway for filming, so I got to drive the wrong way on it and walk around on it and stuff," she said, noting that film crews had posted signs directing people to various locations. "The scene we filmed was NOT a traffic jam. It was a scene in which the city is under attack, and people are driving, and at one, all of their cars go dead. We get out, some of us pop our trunks, others walk, finally we all run from the fire in the city behind us."

She didn't have a big role during the Staten Island shoot, despite the long hours.

"Basically, I'm a random driver stranded on the side of the road. My part was standing under my hood staring at the engine trying to figure out what was wrong with it," she said during the later interview. "There were only a few people who were doing that, most everyone else was walking behind us alongside the road."

She said it was difficult hard to make sense of what was going on overall.

"It looked as though everyone was driving and the cars just stopped," she said. "The cars were scattered. The set was so large it was hard to tell what was going on."

Experts of UFO theory contacted claim the scene depicted the effects of what is called "a pulse" and is similar to an effect Spielberg used in his move Close Encounters. The pulse zaps energy from electrical devices and batteries forcing lights to go out and engines to cease operations.

She said she was certain she was in several shots she hoped would make the final edit.

"The final shot we did like 20 takes , that was the fun one because we were being filmed from a helicopter," she said. "In that scene, we were all running from the fire while Tom Cruise flew through the scattering of cars in a 95 Chrysler minivan. The stunt guy was an AMAZING driver, he got through some tight spots at some very high speeds. He was rehearsing while I was in my car, it was kind of scary watching him fly towards me head on while we were resetting the shots."

She said that she had to move the car around into different position until the scene was the way the director wanted it.

"For one shot, we had a police escort off the highway and around to the other side," she said. "There were about six of us. We had to drive with our hazards on, I'm guessing so they knew we were supposed to be there."

But there was a lot of down time, and she said she often napped.

"It was pretty cold out, and we weren't allowed to keep our engines running," she said. "Luckily, I also brought some snacks to hold me over, and a blanket to throw over me while I was sitting."

Did she see Tom Cruise?

"I'm convinced I saw Cruise," she said. "I thought the guy driving the stunt van was a stunt double for him, a really good stunt double who looked exactly like Cruise. The next day I read in the paper that Cruise was on the set, but driving around in a van the entire time."

Although she was exited to be in the middle of the whole thing, she said people screaming from their cars along the service road were annoying. Some yelled "I love you, Tom." Others screamed, "The world is ending."

If she got the chance, She said she would do it again, but would like to assure she would actually make the film. But if Spielberg does use her in any scene, she'll be certain to see her bright green Mustang standing out.

She said she hopes to do some modeling gigs in the future that involve cars, and would love to get involved in another movie.

"But right now I'm trying to finish college," she said.

While many of the communications among members are part of the private forum, the public can access the club's web site for information about joining and other forums at: