After the deposed Victoria depicter publicly addressed the recasting issue of 'The Twilight Saga's Eclipse', the studio releases a reply explaining what prompts them to take the decision.
- Jul 30, 2009
AceShowbiz - War of words over the recasting of Victoria for "The Twilight Saga's Eclipse" has taken place between Summit Entertainment and the booted-out "Twilight" actress, Rachelle Lefevre. After the Victoria depicter spilled that she was unaware of Summit's move and is "stunned" and "greatly saddened", the studio is quick to release their version of the story.
"We at Summit Entertainment are disappointed by Rachelle Lefevre's recent comments which attempt to make her career choices the fault of the Studio," read the studio's statement released late Wednesday, July 29. "Her decision to discuss her version of the scheduling challenges publicly has forced the Studio to set the record straight and correct the facts."
"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," the studio continued their explanation. "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."
Commenting on Lefevre's claim that she only needs 10 days off to work on "Barney's Version", the studio came up with a reason why they can't give what she wants. "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," so Summit said.
"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. 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 [Eclipse]."
On Tuesday, July 28, Summit announced that Bryce Dallas Howard will replace Rachelle Lefevre as Victoria in "Eclipse". At the time, the studio reasoned that the move has to be done because the 30-year-old actress has scheduling conflicts with another commitment she has made. Soon thereafter, Lefevre shared her thoughts to Access Hollywood, saying "I was stunned by Summit's decision to recast the role of Victoria for 'Eclipse'."
"The Twilight Saga's Eclipse" is an adaptation of the third novel from Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series. Penned by Melissa Rosenberg, this third "Twilight" film has David Slade as its director and a U.S. release date schedule of June 30, 2010. Meanwhile, "The Twilight Saga's New Moon" in which Lefevre will reprise her role as Victoria will come out in U.S. on November 20.
