We just received the following statement from Summit Entertainment:
We at Summit Entertainment are disappointed by Rachelle Lefevre’s recent comments which attempt to make her career choices the fault of the Studio. Her decision to discuss her version of the scheduling challenges publicly has forced the Studio to set the record straight and correct the facts.
Ms. Lefevre’s representatives were advised as early as April that THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE was expected to start shooting in early August.
If Ms. Lefevre was, as she describes “passionate,” about being part of THE TWILIGHT SAGA, we feel that she and her representatives would have included us in her decision to work on another film that would conflict with the shooting schedule of THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE.
It was not until July 20th that Summit was first informed of Ms. Lefevre’s commitment to BARNEY’S VERSION, a commitment we have since been advised she accepted in early June. Summit had acted in good faith that she would be available to fulfill her obligations both in terms of rehearsals and shooting availability for THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE. We feel that her choice to withhold her scheduling conflict information from us can be viewed as a lack of cooperative spirit which affected the entire production.
Furthermore Ms. Lefevre took a role in the other film that places her in Europe during the required rehearsal time, and at least ten days of THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE’s principal photography. This period is essential for both rehearsal time with the cast, and for filming at key locations that are only available during the initial part of production.
Contrary to Ms. Lefevre’s statement, it is simply untrue that the Studio dismissed her over a ten day overlap. It is not about a ten day overlap, but instead about the fact that THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE is an ensemble production that has to accommodate the schedules of numerous actors while respecting the established creative vision of the filmmaker and most importantly the story.
The fact remains that Ms. Lefevre’s commitment to the other project – which she chose to withhold from Summit until the last possible moment – makes her unfortunately unavailable to perform the role of Victoria in THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE.
Everyone please let Summit know how we feel and that WE WANT RACHELLE!
efeig@summit-ent.com
Still don’t think it’s right.
ouch but fair point
what a load- sounds like summit is trying to cover their behind. Why can’t they all just get along and work something out?
Woah, them’s fightin words, Summit. This is about to turn nasty. I still think something could’ve been done other than just dumping Rachelle. She’s perfect as Victoria.
Sounds fair to me! She should have asked summit entertainment first before she engaged in another project that has a big possibility of conflicting with her schedules.
The question remains over whether or not they tried to work things out with her shooting schedule with the other film, or just assumed nothing could be done. And to whoever wrote the statement: thank you so very much for being as condescending as you could, we appreciate it… *facepalm*
Honestly, Summit has been ridiculous throughout this entire process (from the beginning of the series), but now they’ve really jumped the shark. Changing out an actor mid-series is something that belongs on a soap opera, not a movie screen.
I know Rachelle should’ve of talk with Summit about other proyects she wants to do, but give her a break. She’s an actress, and actors are to find their next job, not wait for them. So I understand Rachelle’s situation. The only enemy here is the time between the two movies.
Oh dear….and I have just sent some emails to Summit …ooops!
wtf
im confused
so is she gonna be in it or not?
she is not going to be in it bc she is going to europe for another movie, that is really messed up bc dont they have to follow like a contract or something?
YES WELL. THAT WAS QUICK HUH, we are awesome cause of all the uproar they put out this statement!!
Seriously avoiding the dealio, Summit! I dont know if they’ve got trained monkey’s doing their PR, but they just keep messing stuff up. I’m sure Rachelle would have done whatever she had to do to keep in the films, she’s been shilling for Summit and being fan fav for awhile now. They’re full of crap, they saw a chance for stunt casting and took it!
I still think they should give her another chance to play Victoria. This will totally blow the whole series if they change who plays Victoria now.
Just kiss and make up already!!!!
Twilighters are really gonna be set aside if Rachelle doesn’t continue as Victoria, I mean Bryson is good as an actress, but she’s no Victoria…..
*shrugs.*
Sucks to have her replaced, but if she couldn’t be responsible, then its better we get someone new.
Someone should start a petition to keep Rachelle on or summit is going to lose alot of fans, including me!!!!!!
wow that is so sad. so she said she was committed to the twilight saga and summit made a contract and now they are saying its her fault because she apparently told them too late? wow is this contract moot then? this is really stupid. ughh changing out VICTORIA FOR GOD SAKES AT HER FINALE IN THE SERIES!!!!!!!! that is the stupidest thing anyone could ever think of.
i feel so bad for rachelle. i wonder how she feels about this?
I don’t know what to believe…Is Summit telling the truth or is she?!?! I wish someone could clear this up because it just doesn’t make much sense. Victoria has a HUGE role in Eclipse and I can’t imagine that she would be stupid enough to miss out on this opportunity…but who knows.
That’s the most ridiculous statement I have ever read in my life. As soon as I read “disapointed” I didn’t want to keep reading.
Summit needs to get their shit together, they really made a dick move. I dont even feel like seeing Eclipse all that much anymore.
Its all politics, seriously.
I find it hard to believe that they couldn’t find the time for her to do her role. Ten day’s, really?
I DON’T CARE WHAT THEY SAY. THEY SHOULDN’T BE FILMING THIS FRIKKEN EARLY, ANYWAY! wtf. #bringbackrachelle TWEET THAT!
As far as what they’re saying about her not being available to shoot at key locations that are only available during those ten days, the majority of Victoria’s scenery takes place in the woods/field out in the middle of nowhere. Could they honestly not find an unoccupied field for more than ten days? The only other spot they could possibly need to film her in would be a city location showing her building her army of newborns, again, not a location that is only available for ten days.
wow,
its just ten effin days! how is she unavailable? Rachelle is the perfect Victoria. i just cqan’t nelieve that thwy would be dum enough to let her go. they have to know that the fans have grown to love all of the cast. its just stupid.
I really don’t believe that. I think they are just trying to calm all the fans down. A lot of fans were really upset by the re-cast. I just find it really hard to believe that they couldn’t find the time to for her to do her scenes. As excited as I am about Eclipse coming out, I think it’s going to be different now because we now have a new Victoria!!
Really, guys. Who are you going to believe? The actor or the money-crazy studio? However genuine they try to make their response, it’s not convincing anyone; especially me. All of this is starting a bunch of crap that could have been easily avoided. After all, they’d be bending over backward if this were Kristen or Rob that had “scheduling conflicts”… Rachelle IS worth it. She is Victoria.
i Think that Summit was fair becuase they wanted here totaly commited and she took on another film a month before Eclipse was going to start she should have told them sooner or at lease talk to Summit before takin it to see if she could work in both since the on is in europe. but i still wil lbe sad that she cant play vistoria in Eclipse but she should have been a little more responsible.
Why would you want to replace her? She beautiful and extremly talented. I am very upset and have lost a lot of respect for Summit Entertaiment.
She should have informed Summit of this role before she took it. She knew when she was going to be shooting and yet took the other role anyway. Of course I wish she would continue to play Victoria….but she’s in ONE scene people. It’s just the idea of her for the rest of the movie. If all you are going to do is dread the one moment when she appears on screen thru all of Eclipse….you’re wasting your money. IT’S ONE SCENE
Bull.
Summit’s full of it. I’m taking Rachelle’s side on this. They couldn’t move the schedule around for her a bit? She has ONE SCENE to film for Eclipse. The Summit people are morons.
Maybe we could send in enough e-mails to them and get them to push the date back? Does anybody agree? I mean, she is a PERFECT Victoria. She is so amazing I wonder if we could do something… please reply if you have any ideas! I agree with Kat,
Joslyn, Whitney, Michelle and Sveta. You guys are amazing and as for you TwilightMom? Don’t be a butt.
ok so maby they both are in the wrong…you can make a as flat as you want but there is always two sides.
Well at least between this update from Summit and the previous comments made by Rochelle herself…we know that there clearly was conflict. I don’t know what all the details are/were and we probably will never know. At the end of the day I don’t think sending Summit emails etc. will matter, obviously they are not happy with Rochelle for whatever reason.
I wish they made a contract with her. :/
One more thing…as they say “that’s show business”!
Summit is sooo stupid. First, i don’t believe them and TEAM RACHELLE. Second, they shouldn’t rush the films the way they do!!!! It’s dumb. The back-to-back thing is stupid.
ITS A 10 DAY OVERLAP for gawds sack.
Rachelle Lefevre IS Victoria…..tut tut tut.
Looks like one Production company has become too big for its Fans!
that sucks….
Well it seems quite fair, but I’m very dissapointed in this motion. I’m getting quite confused and dont’ know which side to pick. But If this is what happened to replacing Victoria. It would have been extremely bad if they replaced Edward in Breaking Dawn.
I hate to see something like this turn into politics. A whole seperate world that we all love, is now colliding with the bad stuff we hate in our own lives. backstabbing politics. Think of all the people this fanchised has touched, and with this statement, think of the example summit is setting for the fans. not good. everyone is trying to make a name for themselves by trying the unique and unexpected so if it works out they can say: hey, look what I did! Judging from what sounded as sure statements from rachelle, and the wishy washy response from summit, It looks like rachelle was just mauled over by politics.
Hey Guys! Here r some emails n adresses 4 u guys so we can help 2 get rachelle bck!!
Summit Entertainment
Address: 1630 Stewart ST, Santa Monica, CA 90404
Phone: (310) 828 4132
Administrative Contact :
Tseng, Mimi
summitent@EARTHLINK.NET
2308 BROADWAY
SANTA MONICA, CA 90404-2916
US
Phone: 310-315-6047
Fax: 310-828-4132
EFeig@summit-ent.com,
NKirkpatrick@summit-ent.com,
VMayer@summit-ent.com,
Wyck@templehillent.com,
Paul@pcommgroup.com,
RFriedman@summit-ent.com,
PWachsberger@summit-ent.com,
BHayward@summit-ent.com,
DGarrett@summit-ent.com,
RHohauser@summit-ent.com,
RFay@summit-ent.com,
SNickerson@summit-ent.com
Comon guys!! The more help the betta!! Send this 2 as much people as u can so we can help save rachelle!!! We need 2 do all we can to help cuz this is all BS on Summits fault n we can eaither help them or hurt them n quite frankly its leading to were the vulturi need 2 b involved! They really wouldnt b this big if Twilight didnt put them on the map so please get all the help u can! We can do it Twiuniverse!!!
Thank god she will so be in it summit thanks for the memo i would have been devistated if rachelle wouldnt have been victoria
Wait so they are replacing rachelle
SUMMIT IS NOT FAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They accomadated Cam for Twilight so why not Rachel?
Summit sure doesn’t seem to learn. After the whole trying to replace Taylor incident they should have realized that Twilight fans are definitely a force to be reckoned with. They just pissed off a whole lot of people who make them big money. Even if there were some scheduling conflicts, I doubt it was so impossible that it couldn’t be worked out. She’s not in most of the movie, they could have worked the schedule to accomodate hers.
WTF?!?!? Rachelle would have done whatever it took to make things work. This is complete bulls***! Summit could have made it work! Why the he** did they think it would be a good idea to replace her HALF WAY THREW THE SERIES!?!?!
sign for Rachelle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/RachelleinEclipse314#
I can not believe that they are replacing Victoria !!! What the hell is Summitt thinking? Don’t they know that fans make a certain connection to the characters in the beginning of a series and when things are change it can change the way they feel abt the whole thing…which means they might be scared that changes like this will continue and drop the whole twilight craze!! Think people!!!
THIS IS BS!! ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!! TEAM RACHELLE
I don’t buy into what Summit’s selling. Come on people, it’s complete bull. There was definitely some conflict between them and now their trying to cover-up the tracks.
write to summit!!!!!!!!!!!!
EFeig@summit-ent.com,
NKirkpatrick@summit-ent.com
VMayer@summit-ent.com
Wyck@templehillent.com
Paul@pcommgroup.com
RFriedman@summit-ent.com
PWachsberger@summit-ent.com
BHayward@summit-ent.com
DGarrett@summit-ent.com
RHohauser@summit-ent.com
RFay@summit-ent.com
SNickerson@summit-ent.com
Dear Summit,
It has come to my attention and my fellow beloved Twilight Saga fans that a decision has been made by your company to replace Rachelle Lefevre as Victoria in the upcoming Eclipse movie. We believe this is a terrible mistake as Rachelle has embodied the character Victoria from the beginning and has embraced the entire Saga and all of the fans of the series. This is not to take away from Bryce Dallas Howard as an actress but instead to point out the absolute importance to keep an actress who has rightfully earned the role and has performed it with professionalism, excitement, and obvious admiration for the character. It has always been evidently clear in interviews how important the role of Victoria was to her and to her fans.
This is a major oversight by Summit and I hope that you take the chance to reconsider this decision since Rachelle will ALWAYS be Victoria to the true fans of Twilight.
I am just glad that I got to see Rachelle and also lucky enough to have her sign a poster for NM. Such a shame, but I guess like most of the other actors who are trying to film up to 3 different films during the saga breaks must be incredibly draining. Rachelle, if they don’t take you back – I will still love you as Victoria anyday.
I am so dissappointed about Rachellle leaving!!!!!!!!!!!!!she was sososososososo GREAT for the role of Victoria. i don’t think that new girl will fulfil Victoria’s character correctly!!!!!!!!!
love rachelle but if she’s so passionate about eclipse and playing victoria then why can’t she ask if she drops that ’10 day overlap’ so then she can be in eclipse. but i suppose a contract is a contract
she was pretty good at being victoria. but i like the other girl too. she seems like she will do a great job at portraying victoria.
Absent-minded film company bosses know nothing about filming. Changing this cast after two films is a great mistake. Twilight Saga has started lose its independent soul with this kind of crappy superstar casting.
oh well, too bad for rachelle, she could’ve been a bigger star if she stayed for eclipse. and by the way rachelle is not victoria, she just played victoria. i’m sure bryce could play victoria as well.
wow plenty of controversy and the movie hasnt even started filming yet! regardless of whose fault it is, im really upset that rachelle isnt coming back. she was the perfect victoria in my opinion. oh well, will have to see how this new girl goes…
is there anybody who could give me the email adress of summit? i want to write them some message…rachelle is always be victoria..period…
This sounds to me like what they did to cat(the director of twilight). i think there geting rid of them because they have a biger budget and can afforde better actors. NEWS FLASH! The ones you had were just fine summit!
i don’t know who to believe now!! i do know one thing though, i want rachelle to stay!
oops..
We still don’t know the whole story. There seems to be something missing. Any interview that I have read or seen with Rachelle has been about how much she loves the Twilight Saga and the cast. She is such a talented actor and portrayed Victoria as I imagined her. I think that Summit could have done more to keep her since they know that fans will be upset with this. Did they even ask her if she could change the schedule with the other movie. This is not something that you can just change. Eclipse will not be right without Rachelle. Be ready for angry fans Summit, especially if this other actress can’t portray Victoria correctly. They better not do this with any of the other cast.
Well, Rachelle wasn’t exactly being the smartest either, she knew when they were filming Eclipse, and she just went off and accepted a different role.
I actually really don’t care who portrays Victoria, we only see her in the battle scene anyway, for like, maybe 15 minutes to half an hour?
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/rachelleisvictoria/
PETITIONS FOR RACHELLE!! PLEASE SIGN!!
I PERSONALLY THINK RACHELLE IS LYING TO US! I WILL TELL U WHY….B/C SHE HAS BEEN ON TV SHOWS AND SMALL MOVIES A LOT RECENTLY & IT IS TRUE IF SHE WAS SO “PASSIONATE” ABOUT THE ECLIPSE MOVIE THEN SHE WOULDNT OF DECIDED TO DO ANY OTHER MOVIE PROJECT OUT SIDE OF TWILIGHT THAT WOULD CONFLICT WITH THE FILMING SCHEDULE! PLUS HAVE U GUYS NOT NOTICED THAT RIGHT AFTER SHE WAS BEING REPLACED…SHE WENT TO THE MEDIA LIKE ACCESS HOLLYWOOD & GAVE A STATEMENT ABOUT SUMMIT??? THINK ABOUT IT….I THINK SHE JUST WANTED TO NOT LOOK LIKE THE BAD GUY IN THE SITUATION OF HER BEING REPLACED SO THAT THE FANS WOULDNT GET MAD AT HER FOR MAKING POOR BUSINESS DECISIONS!
This suuuuucccckkkss!
Who to believe???
Anyway, she is gone and it sucks.
i myself don’t believe what their saying. But at least I still have my Jacob. -sighs happily-
ALSO IF RACHELLE REALLY WANTED TO BE IN ECLIPSE THEN WHY DIDNT SHE DROP THAT OTHER MOVIE SHE SUPPOSEDLY WAS GOING TO FILM IN EUROPE INSTEAD OF BEING AT THE ECLIPSE REHEARSALS WHICH WAS MANDATORY!?
Anyone who is upset by this – Have you called Summit and politely said that Rachelle should play ‘Victoria’?
310 309 8400
Simply venting on fan blogs, doesn’t accomplish anything. Please, call. Make your [little] fan voice heard. Let Summit know that we do care. And we are not just a bunch of sheep/fans. As they seem to view us.
_If_ we care, that is…
Alice’s Aunt
Man I wish I was near Summit’s headquarters. I would be throwing stink bombs through windows. Just to try and get the message across that the fans want Rachelle to play our Victoria. That Bryce chick seems to goody goody to be Victoria. Idk this whole replacing her is a bunch of BS! There has to be something more to this then what we are reading. Cuz if this was any other bigger name celebrity, the company would do everything in their power to keep them. I hope Summit knows what is in store for them. They are ruining the Twilight Saga!!!!
Okay, yeah, she should’ve let them know if it was that important, but Jesus Christ, they act like they can’t hold off anything to do with her character for just 10 days. I mean, she really doesn’t even arrive in the story until like, towards the almost very end? C’mon! I find it ridiculous. Summit’s being an ass about it, I think.
Summit is being stupid! I want rachelle to play Victoria she was perfect for the part!
Twilight Mom and Raven,
The attitude you have about Rachelle being replaced is what Summit is counting on…
I’m a true committed fan,, but summit is full of shit right now! Rachelle is Victoria! And they are making a HUGE mistake replacing her!!
k, thats stupid! they can’t just replace Rachelle!!!! shes perfect for the role totally agree with Hannah T
Summit still knows we will all be faithfully waiting for eclipse to come out and happily pay for the tickets so I’m guessing they expected the backlash but still they know they’ll get their money.
http://www.petitiononline.com/rach3cli/petition.html
Almost to 5000 guys! Sign!!
Folks, ten days in a shooting schedule is nothing to dismiss. A lot of work must get done, even in that short a time span. So, while all of you are so convinced that 10 days could’ve easily been excused, you should know that is not necessarily so.
And, while I think the support for Rachelle is a positive thing, she’s portrayed the role of Victoria precisely once (well, twice once New Moon is released). She did a fine job with what little screen time she had in Twilight, and I’m sure her performance in New Moon will mirror that, but to completely dismiss Bryce Dallas Howard’s ability to portray Victoria strikes me as rude and disrespectful. Perhaps she should be given a chance to do the job before people outright dismiss her.
Finally, I’d suggest that those of you ready to nastily chastise Summit Entertainment might want to reconsider your words. Remember that this is the studio that brought the Twilight saga to the big screen. All I’m saying is that while you should feel justified in protesting their decision, consider a bit more respect in your protests and comments.
You kno what? I bet summit is just trying to save their sorry @$$ from looking like a jerk!!!! And I beilive Rachelle’s statement about what happened not Summit’s load of crap!!!
to adrienne,
.and i remembered what kstew said in an interview before that anybody can be bella. and perhaps it goes to the other characters as well. let’s not fret everyone, the twilight saga hasn’t changed. the book we love hasn’t changed. 
that’s because no matter what we do she has been replaced. i love the twilight saga and it hasn’t changed even if the stars who portray each character has been changed or will be changed. i’ve read the books over and over and i will still read it some more
HUGE MISTAKE!!!!
10 DAYS.. WTF. I CAN WAIT TEN MORE DAYS TO HAVE VICTORIA IN IT. THIS IS RIDICULIOUS. I THINK ITS NOT GOING TO B THE SAME WITHOUT HER. AND THE MOVIE SHES NOT GOING TO BE IN IS HER MOST IMPORTANT PART. ECLIPSE HAS VICTORIA ALL IN IT. ITS SIMPLY LUDICRIS
you all need to be mature about this…this is a film production and there is a lot of money involved. she need to be responsible or replaced.
It’s really simple. Summit got a chance to cast a named actor: Bryce D. Howard and took it. To Dismiss Rachel for 10 day shoot is ridiculous on a 2 1/2 month Eclipse shoot of which she would not be needed everyday anyway. Summit is just covering their asses for power grabbing Bryce.
i think summit and rachel need to work something out. she started the series and it is wrong to suddenly see her leave the series. i think the movie will be good but not as good as it could have been i understand there is alot of money etc but they need to all sit down together and work something out..they shouldnt be cutting corners because they might lose a large amount of their fan base for switching in the middle of the twilight movies..
and im very sure ms. howard can do just as good of a job but i think the problem is taking her out of the movies halfway through them. i think it kills the effect.
This is total BS. Summit should get their head out of their asses. Whats going to stop them from replacing the cast? I heard RP was being replaced because of disagreements on sets. And if he isn’t and there really were fights, then wouldn’t it be worse to have cast members that fight then a slight hold back on filming?
Push backs happen in ALL stages of films. They clearly just didn’t want her or they would have worked something out. I have lost so much respect for Summit. It will be very hard to support them with anything they do now.
People…
LET IT GO.
WE DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE
FILM MAKING/PRODUCING/ACTING WORLD.
LEAVE IT TO THE PROFESSIONALS.
I would love to have Rachelle back as Victoria. But its up to Summit and her to make that decision. If she doesn’t come back hopefully Howard will be able to do just as well as Victoria. But i would rather have Rachelle back.
Poetess
I wouldn’t go that far. You have no idea what everybody else knows about Film making/Producing/Acting world. Don’t assume they know nothing about it just because you know nothing about it.
For crying out loud! Summit can’t work something out? If they just add a week or 2 for filming cant it work out? i know they have a tight schedule but if fans really love twilight and rachelle, then we can wait..summit doesn’t have to jump 2 the conclusion of replacing rachelle!
Just wouldn’t be the same now.. its silly
I am so going to miss her. I mean she’s perfect the new girl is pretty but it just won’t be the same. Summit needs to work something out and bring Rachelle back! Someone start a petition. I am almost positive that just about every Twilight fan will sign. Who’s with me!?!
Shatterhand –
I could not had said your comment any better. I agree with you 100%. Time is money in that business, and let’s not dismiss Bryce so fast. Give her a chance. Yes, I am sad the Rachelle will not be back, But I am still a die hard fan of the saga and I will not let these decisions detour me away from it. I wish Rachelle and Bryce the best.
So I don’t mind the change much because, said previously, I love twilight for the story, and the actor won’t change that.
But on the other hand we have all made Victoria familiar through Rachelles face and it will damper how much we believe the story which is upsetting to say the least.
Now whos to blame? I really think Rachelle is the one who needs to do the most reschedualing but who really knows, none of us know how the film making process works so I think we should all just hope for the best and I believe summet regards their fans, us, with their best interest.
It really sucks that Rachelle isn’t going to be playing Victoria. It will just be so different without her. But there is simply nothing we can do about it..we cannot “start a petition” to Summit, complaining. It’s show biz, that’s what happens. Bryce Howard has already been signed off as Victoria now. I don’t want to lose Rachelle either, but we should give Bryce a chance. Who knows, maybe everyone will end up really liking her.
Ehh sounds really complicated….
But anyway, I love Rachelle. And to anyone who refuses to see the movie just because of the cast, well, that’s not cool. Bryce will be great I’m sure. Rachelle was great. But we have to stop complaining about it and accept it.
I don’t really have a side that I’m on. Just have to stay positive right?
I WANT REACHELLE BACK!!!!!! :’(
if they cast someone else as victoria it is totally gonna mess up the movie cause she already had a big part! ppl will be like “hey, thats not victoria!”