UPDATE: SUMMIT RESPONDS

that is almost the exact same thing from before, only with bullets.

i really hope this matter is brought up at TwiCon. i definitely want to hear what the other cast members think.

I’m callin BS! I think that’s just BS to cover there a**s

wow, they are seriously mad at her (and they have their reasons) but I don’t know what to make of this, we’ll never know the whole story… *sigh* I still wish Rachelle would play Victoria

Why do I feel like I’m back in middle school? “She hit me first…”

The point is that Summit did this without informing Rachelle first. They did this without regard to the fanbase.

I will be interested to see what Rachelle has to say next. Perhaps she has a decision to make. Perhaps someone connected to the other project has a soul and will accomodate her Eclipse shooting schedule should Summit actually decide to care what the fans want.

ugh. im soooo confused! i dont know who to believe. i want to believe Rachelle but, ugh! i hate this.

No matter who you side with, it is a bad situation for everyone. I hate it for us fans though – we shouldn’t have to see a recast right before the conclusion of her story….this is not a soap opera.

I think all the fans should email Erik Feig and let him know how we feel about Rachelle being recast!
efeig@summit-ent.com

Yikes. I still think Summit could have tried to work it out with Rachelle. Damn. As much as I like Bryce, it’s just gonna be weird having someone besides RL be Victoria. Couldn’t someone from Summit have just called her and discussed it with her instead of just, boom! cutting her out? Seems like there was just a wee bit of shady-ness going on, and keeping her on wasn’t high on Summit’s priority list. Sad! But I guess all’s fair in love & war.

Big company flexes their muscle. Plain and simple. If they really wanted her, they would have worked with her schedule.

Rachel was surprised, it seems by their decision. Why didn’t they talk to her people about this before recasting?

I don’t buy it. It’s all about money.

I agree with both of them partially but I’m leaning on Rachelle’s side. The fact of the matter is – there are 3 months of shooting for Eclipse – therefore 10 days out of 3 months would be easy to make sure that Rachelle isn’t needed on set for those days. I can’t help but think if this was Robert Pattinson or Kristen Stewart, they would gladly accomadate them. They did it in twilight for Cam Gigandet and Elizabeth Reaser when they had scheduling conflicts!

On the other hand, Rachelle never mentioned that the project that caused all this was in EUROPE.

But I still think Summit is wrong and this is a very immature reaction to it all. It reminds me of a child who’s best friend is hanging out with someone else for one day and so the child stops talking to the best friend. This is a multi-million franchaise, not a little straight-to-dvd C-Class movie. I’m not bashing those movies, I’m just saying there’s a big difference between changing the cast in the Save the Last Dance films and Eclipse.

xXx

To me it sounds like they didn’t talk to her about at all. They knew about for over a week now wouldn’t they talk to her about it and try and straighten things out before casting someone else. One thing I dont get is how they kept it quiet for that long especially since ComicCon was last week. Whatever the outcome maybe I wish the best of luck to both Rachelle and Bryce.

Even after reading both of the stories, I stick with my original opinion that Summit wanted a BIG NAME in their studios and cast this big names DAUGHTER as bait. Rachelle didn’t stand a chance. They were obviously looking for a way out and found one.

I honestly believe with as much dedication to her fan base that she has had for Twilight & New Moon, that she would never have left the series on her own. It’s a $$$ making franchise. I think had Summit really cared, the other movie with Dustin Hoffman would have been willing to work around TEN DAYS of filming. Summit just made themselves look that much worse by responding so immaturely.

I still say SHAME ON SUMMIT. Besides, the entire point is that FANS are what make this popular and so far from every single blog site I’ve read – 99.9% of fans demand Rachelle and not BDH.

Summit, grow up and wake up.

When things like this happen I never know what side to believe, but for me personally Rachelle deserves the part and it is going to be very hard to see someone else playing Victoria

this is certainly unexpected surprise move by summit…i understand their need to have logistics and schedules in place for filming and rehearsals but it seems as if some accomodations could have been for such an intricate role as Victoria played by Rachelle…however, if what they say is true in the updated press release, Rachelle would probably still have her job if she had just been open and upfront about her other film role(s) as she has indicated in her press release.

All in all, the decision has been made and hopefully Bryce will be able to adapt to the demands of the role and portray Victoria just as good as Rachelle has in Twilight and New Moon. Of course the fans will be the final judge of that…Good Luck Rachelle!

This is SO not good for her relationship with Summit and the fact that she still has to go out and do promotions and press junkets for New Moon. There’s definitely gonna be some bad blood. Pun intended.

I think Summit knows how pissed off we all are and now are trying to shift the blame on Rachelle so they look like the good guys. Well it ain’t workin’ for me. Rachelle seems like a nice person and it is pretty clear how dedicated she is to this series. Honestly it wouldn’t bother me that much if I had to wait a few months longer for Eclipse because personally I think June is a little early seeing as New Moon comes out in November.

TEAM RACHELLE

They’ve made adjustments previously for other supporting cast members.

She’s shooting ten days tops. One scene. Summit is being transparent and ridiculous. Despite it being one scene though…it’s the character’s exit. I think it’s important for continuity that Rachelle be in that scene.

I’m disappointed in Summit’s decision making and immaturity.

I’ll continue to email and write letters. Summit and/or David Slade need to bend a little. They’ve a hit franchise and given the way they’re rushing things…I think they could chill a hot minute and do what’s right for the story.

Grow up is right, this press release just makes them sound petty and childish. I think she was in her right to make a statement about her surprise, she didn’t do it in an ugly way, and she didn’t say anything rude or out of line. Summit, on the other hand behaved rather childishly with this new press release. The whole time I was reading it, I just kept feeling like the big bully was out there picking on the little people.

It’s really too bad that they couldn’t have come up with a better way to deal with this. And I just think that if they had gone to her and said, pick one or the other, that she would have picked Twilight. I could be wrong though, no one knows but Rachelle.

I wish both sides would just sit down and figure this out…instead…of making this strictly a “business” matter.

Basic rules of Public Relations…work EVERYTHING out BEFORE you ANNOUNCE a drastic decision.

I’m sure Rachelle wouldn’t have responded the was she did if Summit had bothered to sit down and talk about the issues.

Both sides have valid issues…BUT…they can easily be worked out.

Rachelle’s reps…Summit…quit playing “business” and talk like mature adults.

I think that its important that we still make our voices heard. If we give up, if we stop the emailing and petitioning, they’ve stomped out a rebellion very quickly here. Negotiations can be made. Now is the time to find out what’s more important, the fans or the dollars. Maybe that sounds naive, but I don’t care. Summit is behaving reprehensibly and should be made to recant and recast Rachelle.

I think a nobody like Rachelle was supposed to smile and shutup after making a quiet remark about how happy she was to have been in the Twilight Saga, and how happy she is now to be working with Dustin Hoffman.

Tough for Summit: she was thrown under the bus so hollywood royalty could take over her role, with the OK of Eclipse’s new director who is focussed on putting more Transformer/39 days of night/ splatter and gore types in the theatre seats. Good luck, Summit. And I have no sympathy for Bryce: she has taken a role from someone she thinks in a nobody compared to her own noble heritage. It is all completely disgusting and shameful.

It doesnt matter. Eclipse is now tainted. I’m not sure how I feel about the movie saga anymore.

It’s funny how we’ve all worried about the cast ‘changing’. Seems like that was the least of our worries.

And honestly, Summit should have handled the whole situation differently than they did. This just muddied everything up. I’d suggest that we boycot the film but I know how hard it’ll be to stay away from the theaters when these movies come out. But still…

Look at the twitter trending topics:
http://twitpic.com/c3gax
And its been like that for hours.
FAIL SUMMIT, FAIL.

And knowing how strong the fan base is… if I were Bryce, I think I would be feeling some fear. Not because of her acting skills, dont get me wrong. But if I were an actor, I dont think I would want to put myself into the middle of all of this. Perhaps there is something premeditated to her taking the role.

I think both parties were stupid about the whole thing.

It should have been discussed but when schedules were adjusted for the first movie…it wasn’t a “huge blockbuster” like Eclipse is going to be.

Yes this business is all about money. Its also about chemistry. They need to work together to get the choreography and such of fights down before they put it to film. Again shooting locations are important as well and if they only have certain places they can shoot in a certain time period…. Yes it really SUCKS that Rachelle won’t be playing Victoria BUT..she should have been completely forthcoming about her situation. Its all about priorities and she decided that her other movie was a bigger priority than Eclipse and told people after she’d made the decision.

Summit had to act QUICKLY in order to keep shooting on schedule. So a recast was needed. Finding someone to quickly take over such a large role isn’t easy either.

Its like having an employee who decides that their other job is more important that the job they do for you. If they say to you “I’m gonna be gone for 10 days because I need to work at my other job” and you have certain things that NEED to be done that only they can do in that time…its time to find a new employee. Especially when they’ve known for over a month and haven’t told you about it. Don’t matter if they were Employee of the YEAR. Your business comes first.

It was pretty crappy that they didn’t talk it through but seems like once she signed on for this other movie…she’ll be filming even sooner..leaving THAT project in limbo if she backed out. She’s done for either way. You can’t please everyone. Shame on Summit for outting her so publicly with it, Shame on her for not being forthcoming with her.

Both parties are at fault and unfortunately…THE FANS SUFFER.

Am I the only one who actually thinks Bryce will do a better job? I always found Rachelle’s portrayal of Victoria to be a bit weak and in need of more edginess. I think Bryce will be perfect for the role and will give it that evil edge that Victoria’s character needs to be believable in an intense fight scene.

In the end, the studio has every right to cast based on who they think will portray the character the best. I don’t see anything wrong with what they did.

This is pure BS on the part of Summit! If this was such a surprise to them, how do you think they got their choice for her replacement so fast? Not buying it!

bull shit!

just some things to say to summit!!!!!F U!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!10 DAY FREAKIN DAYS!!!!BIG DEAL!!!!IF U REALLY CARED ABOUT THE FANS AND ABOUT RACHELLE THEN U WOULD NOT CARE ABOUT 10 FREAKIN DAYS!!!!!!SO THANKS FOR ALREADY MESSING UP ECLISPE!!!!! and i agree with britt

I think everyone had their reasons to do what ever they had to do. What ever happened between them, only they know and both sides are at fault. To the people that are saying that summit is blaming her… well… they had to, she had blamed everything on them first.It is understandable that they had to defend themselves. All I say is that i would have loved to see Rachelle continue in the movie but circumstances turned out it was not meant to be. We ALL have to understand that in this business, schedules are extremely important and there is more than one actor in the movie they have to work around. Everyone please be open minded. In the end we are twilight saga fans and all we want is that the movies are well done and that they fallow the story that we so much love.

So there are 3 sides to the story. Rachelle side. Summit side. And the truth. The fact is she is gone and that really bites. I hate the fact they are changing actors! I already got used to Rachelle face.

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! The Twiuniverse can do it!!!

Both sides acted wrong, who knows maybe it was a missunderstanding between Summit and Rachelle’s agent, maybe Summit just cares about the money and doesn’t give a s**t about Rachelle, or maybe they just want a bigger name in the franchise, who knows… we weren’t there, and after this respond it’s pretty clear that there’s no coming back for Rachelle now. That just sucks. Oh, and I don’t think the rest of the cast is going to talk freely about this, they’re going to be neutral or forced to be neutral by Summit

It seems to me that Rachelle is caught in the middle between Summit and her Agents.

I foresee a few more emails going back and forth before filming starts. I feel bad for Bryce as this isn’t a good start for her. I don’t see the cast giving her a hard time, but she is going to have a lot to live up to regarding the fans.

Why is it Summit’s fault? I’m honestly curious.

She took another project on and can’t fulfill her obligations to the film and her cast members. Summit did what it had to to keep filming on schedule and continue the project.

You can’t just wing a performance. You need to do principal photography & rehearsals to get things right. If she can’t be there to do this, then she has to be re-cast. Its that simple. We’ve all known for months that Eclipse would be shot in August. And I’m sure the other actors & professionals have signed on for OTHER projects AFTER Eclipse. Not to mention they’ve probably already done time lines for hotels, road closures, rental properties, equipment etc for the time period agreed upon for filming. Changing this is just not something you can do. Only time its ever done is when tragedy occurs or natural disaster.

When Twilight was filmed, they filmed Cam’s scenes first because he had to film another movie AFTER Twilight was filmed. Meaning he got to do the rehearsals..etc. They could go ahead and get his shots out of the way because he wasn’t in all that many. Rachelle wouldn’t have that opportunity. She would be walking into FILMING blind as to what the director wants. That would be a huge disadvantage not only for her but the director, stunt folks, cast members etc. Again..Practice before filming. There’s a ton of stunts & choreography that goes into fight scenes. For her SAFETY she would need to be a part of those rehearsals.

Bring on Bryce! Good luck to Rachelle in her other projects.

“If Ms. Lefevre was, as she describes “passionate,” about being part of THE TWILIGHT SAGA,[...]”

What are you twelve? seriously people! Behave like grown ups, sit and talk and work things out, this way your putting us fans in the middle and are making us choose sides, which (big surprise…) is not looking good for Summit

This seems like a total cop out to me by Summit….because what if Kristen or Rob or Dakota get delayed with the filming of the movies they are on now and they miss rehearsals??? Are they going to replace them too?? I think not…

“I was fully committed to the ‘Twilight’ saga, and to the portrayal of Victoria,” Rachelle continued, explaining the turn of events that led to the casting change.

“I turned down several other film opportunities and, in accordance with my contractual rights, accepted only roles that would involve very short shooting schedules. My commitment to ‘Barney’s Version’ is only ten days. Summit picked up my option for ‘Eclipse.’ Although the production schedule for ‘Eclipse’ is over three months long, Summit said they had a conflict during those ten days and would not accommodate me.

Given the length of filming for ‘Eclipse,’ never did I fathom I would lose the role over a 10 day overlap. I was happy with my contract with Summit and was fully prepared to continue to honor it. Summit chose simply to recast the part.”

The star concluded her statement with a regretful tone.

“I am greatly saddened that I will not get to complete my portrayal of Victoria for the ‘Twilight’ audience. This is a story, a theatrical journey and a character that I truly love and about which I am very passionate. I will be forever grateful to the fan support and loyalty I’ve received since being cast for this role, and I am hurt deeply by Summit’s surprising decision to move on without me. I wish the cast and crew of ‘Eclipse’ only the very best,” she said.
**********************************************************************

Alright people…Am I missing something here?

“in accordance with my contractual rights, accepted only roles that would involve very short shooting schedules.”

“Although the production schedule for ‘Eclipse’ is over three months long, Summit said they had a conflict during those ten days and would not accommodate me.”

“Given the length of filming for ‘Eclipse,’ never did I fathom I would lose the role over a 10 day overlap. I was happy with my contract with Summit and was fully prepared to continue to honor it. Summit chose simply to recast the part.”

*************************

Sounds to me that she was following the rules of her contract and that Summit had a ‘problem’ with that (and Summit obviously was aware of it not oblivious to it)and chose to can her without any discussions. Sounds to me that Rachelle was flexible about and planned to continue to honor her contract when Summit unceremoniously canned her publicly without her knowledge.

Did I read this correctly. Because if I didnt… someone please clear this up for me.

The bottom line is that the Studio has spoken. It seems like neither party was telling the entire truth and I agree with many of my fellow Twilighters by saying that regardless of the outcome – the FANS are the one to suffer for it.

Jim… This is part of Rachelle’s statement… Sounds to me that if Summit would have simply sat down and talked to her, things probably would have been resolved. Sure it’s all business. Bad business on Summit’s behalf. Talk about unprofessional.

“I was happy with my contract with Summit and was fully prepared to continue to honor it. Summit chose simply to recast the part.”

Does seem like Rachelle is caught in the middle of a rock and a hard place. Lack of communication between Summit and what appears to be her management seems to be the biggest problem at this point. I just can’t see Summit wanting a more high profile actress (when I would be assured Rachelle would be the cheaper option of herself and Bryce). There’s got to be more to this. Pointing the finger just makes both parties look quite elementary.

So saying that, I can’t imagine Bryce would actually want to be a part of this film now with some of the immense over-reaction to this news.

Bottom line, who’d want to work for Summit? HA!

OK – this statement below in ” ” by Summit was a total contradition or is it just me that didn’t get it?

============
“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.”

===========
They are saying it was not until July 20th that they were informed of her committment to the other project. In the same sentence, they said they have been advised since early June about her acceptance of the other project. So which is it? She did tell them early on and didn’t wait till the last possible minute to reveal her secret decision. What a load of crap. I don’t believe it.

Lauren…they said that THEY found out July 20th, and they have since found out that RACHELLE accepted the offer in June. Meaning they just found out she had accepted the role almost two months ago. It’s not contradictory.

Can anyone else smell the bullshit?

According to People’s original story it’s in QUEBEC which by the way Summit Dummies is not in EUROPE. It’s in Canada. Idiots!

*cough*bullshit*cough*

OH NO, is all I can say…..what will happen to my favorite book??????
Why can’t people talk to each other??? If Rachelle spoke to Summit earlier and Summit was more cooperative with accommodating her filming schedule NONE OF THIS WOULD BE TAKING PLACE. Men… egos’… blah !!

Could Ron Howard be interested in directing Breaking Dawn????? Could this be a part of it???? If so they really stepped in it this time.
To under estimate this fan base is sooooo foolish, we are rabid when our loyalties about this cast are tested, such fools, such silly little fools.

Sign this online petition to bring back Rachelle

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/rachelleinecpliseyes/

All I have to say is that she should never have made another appointment at all. She had a contract with summit first and she should have honored it. AND I HAVE TO SAY I WILL MISS HER AS VICTORIA. No other cam play her I think Bryce Dallas Howard looks WAY to sweet to play this part

I am sorry but Summit just lowered my opinion of them as a professional business. How can they say they did not know Rachelle was filming another movie that would conflict with Eclipse’s schedule? The REELZ Channel interviewed Rachelle at the Vampire Baseball charity event on July 1st where she told them about the other movie being filmed in Canada (Which is not in Europe Summit!) and that her commitment and highest priority was for Eclipse. She said she couldn’t wait to film the fight scene. So, does Summit have their heads in the sand since all the cast at the baseball game new of Rachelle’s new movie and it was broadcasted over the media network in several states including Canada. Summit did this to Catherine Hardwick after she filmed Twilight and had started the publicity tour for the movie. Summit’s excuse for letting her go was the same SCHEDULING COMMITMENTS. She told the media that she had wanted more money put into the next movie and a longer production time to make the movie. Twilight was filmed on a very low budget and rushed to get it out so Summit could cover their loses with their movie Pusher which was a box office flop. They let her go and blackballed her in the business when she spoke the truth. Dosen’t anyone remember this! So how can Summit make this accusation against Rachelle when there are so many taped interviews out there backing up what she has said. I also think want Summit has done is a breech of contract on their part not Rachelle’s part. She states they knew about the other movie before June when she signed up for Eclipse. They have accomindated the other members of the cast before. I really think this is their way of drawing in more known actors for their studio and also maybe a certain director. I will continue to back Rachelle for this is not the first time this has happen with Summit.

This reeks of “spin” by Summit to save face. I work in PR and can read between the lines here, all language that I’ve seen before. Plain and simple, Summit dropped Rachelle — it is so evident by their rather weak statement, one that is filled with ambiguous characterizations of what transpired. If they’re telling the truth, then why not just work this out now, seeing how Rachelle actually has vocalized how upset she feels about this, and just let her rightfully play Victoria? Do you mean to tell me that if this was Ashley or Jackson or another major but not lead player, that they would have dropped them the same way?

long time comin, midlife crisis rap, (add your own beat, i have faith, I’ve heard the Beastie Boys today}

Corporately deft… humanly latent, sign of the times,
You underestimated the reaction of out Twilittered minds,
We have the books, Rob has his looks
(ok, I went on because it rhymes,
he has talent too
I saw “Little Ashes[see my review
,(TA)}
I’m sure Rachelle is caught is the middle of this publicity nightmare,… yes, it is..
you know how money talks,.. adds an in your face,…..undeniable twist,
let’s call it a wash, kay??
New Moon with Taylor? Perfect! … nuff said… give us a show!
Repeat an insult… give it a go!

My heart go out to Rachelle!!!! I will miss you and bealive ladies and gentleman that summit will lose a lot of bussiness!!!!!

Ok my questin is how could there be a scheduling conflict i knew way back in last spring that they were shooting eclipse in Aug she should have known to. Its a mess and there is probally no good guy but i just think that she should have known and its sad because this is victorias BIG story and someone else is going to get the credit for doing it.

People, please don’t give up on Rachelle yet. I know that there is probably nothing that we can do, but we should try. I am hurting for Rachelle right now because I believe that she truly did love the Twilight Saga. Did she make a mistake? Yes. But I cannot even imagine Eclipse with out Rachelle. Please just take a minute to email the people at Summit. There is a list of email addresses above that Ashlie posted. Copy and paste them all in the TO section on you email and let them know how disappointed you are. As we saw with Taylor, Twilight fans do have a voice, and we will be heard if we speak out.
Don’t give up!
TEAM RACHELLE!

I am kind of wondering if Summit is after Ron Howard to direct Breaking Dawn and this is part of the deal. I know that that is probably not fair to say for Bryce, but I am not trusting Summit on this. I don’t have anything against Bryce, but Eclipse will not work for me without Rachelle. Very disappointed!

I had to dig out my hip boots after reading Summits statement. The BS is DEEP in that statement. No matter what, Rachelle had the right to sign up for other projects just like Rob/Kristin/Peter and others have done since NM wrapped-that’s not unusual. It’s not the least bit odd for Rachelle to think that her 10 days of work on the other project would interfer with her work on Eclipse. And given that her character is central to the Eclipse story line, it’s just petty and (yes, I’ll say it)stupid of Summit to cut her out after all she’s done to promote the franchise. Not to mention that they have now totally pissed me off. And just for the record, I’ve never been a “huge” fan of Rachelle but as an actor she has become the un-living, non-breathing version of Victoria that I love to hate-that says a lot of what I think of her acting ability. Summit needs to get a grip and find a work to bring her back; she has EARNED the right to play Victoria in the segment where she should get to let her talent shine.
Shame on Summit. Quit acting like babies and more like the studio you want to be by demonstrating a little loyalty to the cast that has MADE you what you are today.

I’m not going to watch eclipse if rachelle is not in it…they will loose a huge fan

This was definitely an extreme response on Summit’s part. If it had been Kristen or Rob there wouldn’t have been any recasting going on. Summit would have found a way to work around it, which just proves that they could do it. This is when I start losing faith in big buisnesses. If Summit cared they would listen to the fans!

BRING BACK RACHELLE!

It is unfortunate for the Twilight franchise that both sides decided to publicly air out their dirty laundry. All we see is what was presented. For all we know there might have been some existing animosity between them that boiled up to this point making it easier for Summit to dismiss Rachelle. I’m sure there will be more on this issue to be heard. It really is too bad. Victoria won’t be the same if Bryce plays her.

Am I the only one who thinks Jim sounds like a Summit lurker?

Regardless of the particulars of the situation, Jim, at the very least Summit has behaved poorly. The actor was not informed, it was not discussed beforehand, she was sent to Comic-Con to promote the movies with Summit’s full knowledge that they would drop the recasting bomb shortly thereafter. The press release was dropped in the late hours of the night, the rebuttal to the actor’s statement makes them sound childish.

Summit is in serious need of some rational public relations people, and they owe Twilight fans a major apology for sullying the Saga this way.

I cldn’t agree more!! All of u n specially Amy, PrincessJen, Gretch n dabexter, if there really was any “schedule conflicts” all they had to do was sit&talk to Rachelle who wld, NO DOUBT, walked out of this Barney thing without thinking twice!
And how quickly they found Bryce, eh?
Well said, Pat, they’ve done it before with Catherine!
Shame on u, Summit!
Let’s go Twination, go Team Rachelle!

Jim, it appears to me that you work for Summit! At least by what you say, you have pretty strong feelings for their business practices. I can’t imagine any Twilighter (who didn’t have ties to them) being so hot for Summit without considering Rachelle’s position first. Where did you come from?

All in all, I smell a rat, and this just disgusts me. I don’t believe Rachelle was trying to hide anything… otherwise she wouldn’t have tweeted her plans or talked about the other movie in the interview earlier this month. And I also agree it seems like Summit is doing this to get a bigger name in. Do they not realize that might ruin the chemistry for the film? If she’s filming the other movie in CANADA (Summit seemed to be pulling excuses from their tuchus by claiming Europe) then it shouldn’t be hard for her (in that 10 days to fly over, meet with the cast and crew and David Slade… get a feel for the project and find where she fits in. Then fly back to finish her other movie.
They DEFINITELY could’ve worked this out IF they wanted to.

Maybe Bryce really wanted that part and asked Dad to help her out somehow, who knows. We will probably never know.

I agree with Kelly. We all had a pretty good idea that Eclipse would begin production at the end of August beginning of December with Breaking Dawn, hopefully, starting up early next year. How can she even say that she had no idea. If she was so excited to play this role in the saga, she would never have taken a role without making sure that the times would work. And yes, Summit would wait for Kristen and Rob, but it looks to me like they are more organized and would never put themselves in that kind of situation. They move their schedules, they don’t make other move theirs. It seems like this whole situation is in Rachelle’s hands, no one is forcing her. Why not back out of the other thing since obviously she is already apart Eclipse prior to signing on to the other project, and which one will be bigger and better for her career. I feel this is a no brainer.

This is a big mistake! It is obvious that Summit did not want to work it out with Rachelle. It reeks of the same pattern of behavior as what occurred with Catherine Hardwicke. Summit Exec’s: There has to be a better way. If this is an indication of how you do business, it’s not acceptable. From the public perspective (me) Rachelle has done a fine job and has supported the movie’s. I can’t believe that this heavy handed tactic is being used again. I do hope the Twi Fandom is energized by this situation. It’s unfortunate, but I am losing interest in the movies and I am thinking – boycott!

the blame is on rachelle’s management.

first of all, she shouldn’t have accepted another role so close to the shooting for eclipse. but i think that if the management had disclosed those plans to summit last month EVEN BEFORE she accepted it, perhaps the eclipse crew could have tried to adjust scheduling to accommodate her. they at least could have sat down and talked about how to logistically make it work. but instead, summit was not told until 10 days ago – just weeks before shooting begins – that she would not be available for KEY REHEARSAL and SHOOTING days. that’s simply unacceptable.

things are already set for eclipse. and it involved way too many people and companies and locations and contracts to go back and re-plan the whole thing.

summit stated: “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.”

those locations will not be available for filming once rachelle gets there. not to mention, she won’t be around for rehearsal!

what was summit supposed to do? there’s not much time left before rehearsals begin.

it is a very unfortunate situation for everyone involved. it sucks a lot. i’ll be bummed to see rachelle go, and sadly i think it’s too late to bring her back now, but i’m also very excited to see how Bryce will portray victoria. i loved her in the village and i think she will make a great vampire.

the movies will still be just as awesome, and the world will continue to turn.

everyone needs to show bryce the same twilight love we’re known for and welcome her to the twilight family.

All right, I am as sad about this as anyone else. But, it seems that Summit was not notified of this committment in time to accomodate her. They were notified on July 20th and filming begins in early August. It seems that by that time, schedules would be made for filming locations and rehearsals. It seems they would have accomodated her had they known about the conflict. It may not necessarily be her fault, but it seems there was a breakdown of communication between the two camps. Emailing people isn’t going to do anything to get her back. At this point, filming is probably only days away and they probably can’t really change things. Missing rehearsals and set filming dates does seem like a problem.

I’m not sure why everybody keeps saying that the fans are the ones to suffer. HOW WILL WE SUFFER BY SEEING A BETTER ACTRESS PORTRAY VICTORIA????? Summit has decision to make in order to ensure the best movie possible, and I say, good for them. I totally trust them.

GROW UP all you petitioners. It won’t change their decision. Promise.

CONGRATS BRYCE!!! Can’t wait to see what you bring to the role!

Its the last movie she’ll appear on.. Couldn’t they just finish it right?
Ugh very annoyed

although i would have liked it Rachelle played Victoria… she should have put her Twilight scheduling first and asked the other movie if they could move their schedule… everyone on the cast (with the exception of prob. the main actors Rob, Taylor, Kristen) had to give up other movie deals to work around their Twilight filming schedules why shouldn’t she? BOTTOM LINE she should have worked out the schedule with BOTH movies before committing to something other that Twilight, not after the fact.

petition ‘Rachelle Lefevre back as ‘Victoria’ in Eclipse!’ – Summit needs to remember that the fans have made Twilight what it is and the saga has been their largest grossing project…

Damn, I really loved her as Victoria. Oh well, maybe Bryce will portray her differently.

This is just really unprofessional on both their parts. I understand there are hurt feelings, but that’s showbiz, baby. Both Summit and Rachelle (whom I love) need to grow up a bit. We do not air our dirty laundry in public, girls – not if we want to keep our careers on the upswing. Don’t believe me? Ask Lindsey Lohan.

She had a contractual agreement with Summit, and she broke it. That’s the real world, guys. You don’t work at one place, then suddenly say sorry, can’t do that, gotta go here for ten days; so all the people, who DID work that agreement into their very busy schedules, can just go to hell. That’s not what I call commitment.

I follow the thoughts regarding these matters:

- It’s still missing the third side: the truth.
- Both sides are wrong and being childish. The two statements are a perfect match if you read it. Rachelle got a new movie and she didn’t tell Summit. She thought it wouldn’t be a problem, as Summit accomodate other actors’ schedule before. Summit was mad at Rachelle because they wanted to be informed of it previously. It means they wanted her to ask for their blessing before, right? Whatever. Both playing childishly and saving their a**es trying to appeal good to the fans.
- It’s all about money. Who didn’t know it should have known it better. It’s all about money for Summit, it’s all about money for Rachelle.
- The fans are the only ones who are being truly affected by this. But did you really expect that Summit would make a decision like that and would submit it to a public poll? They would never think in asking the fanbase opinion. Victoria is a secondary role till now, so she can be replaced – that’s a business thought.

I won’t sign petitions, I won’t send mails, I won’t post in my twitter, I won’t take my time with that. I’m sorry but that’s my attitude – being the most reasonable and not taking sides. I will miss Rachelle and I wish good luck for Bryce.
My love for the saga isn’t related to Summit or the movies so I will try to move on. They don’t care for us so badly.

Please sign this petition ‘Rachelle Lefevre back as ‘Victoria’ in Eclipse!’ – http://301.to/625

if they wanted to have Ron Howard direct breaking dawn, why not have his daughter in breaking dawn…ugh so many rumors are going to be flying around. maybe the maddness will become too much and they’ll take her back. Summit is nothing without us fans.
BRING BACK RACHELLE!

The majority of the reactions on this blog are completely juvenile. Welcome to Hollywood kids! Bottom line: It’s not personal, it’s business. I’m sad to see Rachelle go, but have no doubt that Bryce will do a phenomenal job in this role. How about we stop whining and be positive? I’m excited to see what Bryce brings to the character.

I sent emails to all Summit Execs. I received a response from Nancy Kirkpatrick first thingthis morning (6:42 AM). Basically stating what a horrible experience this was for Summit and how they were misused by Rachelle. Per Nancy’s email the job Rachelle took was completed in early June.

Based on this response, this is what I read into it. Most likely Nancy Kirkpatrick is the designated spin doctor for this topic. The response is a canned response. Corporate America does not allow any written responses to go out to the public that have not been cleared through the business machine. (I know how this works as I was a VP for a Fortune 500 company for 11 years.) They state that the last 10 days have put them under a great strain.

Things to think about: Does anyone honestly believe that this large movie giant, was totally blindsided by Rachelle? Remember that rumors travel faster through the movie community than any other business. Does it seem strange that Rachelle’s scheduling conflict only became know to Summit Entertainment conveniently after Comic-Con. This way they were able to make their appearance at Comic-Con and avoid the bad press it would have caused if the fans had known about the casting replacement during the general meeting. Does anybody believe that Summit was not already in talks with Bryce Howard and were just waiting to issue the press release to fit their needs.

The way to send a message to Summit is through their pocket book. By all means support the books, but think twice about supporting the movies. Read the books again if you need an Edward/Bella fix.

PEOPLE- FANS, PLEASE CALM DOWN! This is not SO tragic, you all are acting as if they were recasting one of the Cullens, Bella, or Jacob and the pack. This will not end badly. Bryce is a very good actor and I’m sure we will all think she does a amazing job. Please try to be optimistic here.

I am not confused and I know exactly who to believe. COME ON people! Do you really think Rachelle, a virtual unknown up until Twilight, would willingly and maliciously deceive Summit and forfeit her job for an indie flick? PUHLEEZE! Summit obviously wanted to replace her and is using this “scheduling conflict” as an excuse to do so. This was Rachelle’s movie–would she really trade all that screen time for a role in a film hardly anybody will see? In EVERY interview she has ever given she seems to be enthusiastic and humble about her role in Twilight. Now weigh that against a bunch of suits who only care about making money…

The facts are that Bryce Dallas Howard is essentially her own name, she’s a golden globe nominated actress and she’s been in a few box office hits (Spider-Man 3 and Terminator Salvation). When it came down to the wire either David Slade didn’t want Rachelle or the studio no longer thought she was right for the movie, because she’s basically unknown outside of the twilight films.

In the end, of course they don’t really care about what the fans think…or they would have worked around Rachelle’s 10 day schedule out of a 3 month shoot.

And, the speculation about having Bryce Dallas Howard’s dad, Ron Howard direct Breaking Dawn is B.S., any REAL studio would know that Ron Howard just doesn’t direct anything. he’s passinonate about all his projects and 99% of the time, works with the same production crew, from his production company (imagine entertainment) and producers, like Brian Grazer for example. which means, most, if not all of the twilight saga production crew and producers would be out of a job, which isn’t going to happen. plus, Ron Howard has about 4 different film projects he’s working on right now for the next 3 or 4 years.

hey, but you never know. I call foul on David Slade or Summit alone for wanting, technically, a “Name” actress.

I think Bryce Dallas Howard will be phenomenal, I liked Rachelle in interviews and stuff, but I don’t think she was that good an actress, she was a little over the top in twilight with her evil tense eyes.

Bryce will be great, so here’s to the twilight series becoming better.

It’s not like we’re going to boycott the movie. Let’s just go with the change.

TEAM RACHELLE!
I could care less what Summit’s BS reasons are. I cannot stand it when actors are changed half-way through a series. The fact is I WILL boycott Eclipse. It was never my favorite anyway. I want Rachelle back!

Rachelle should have known better than to start filming two movies at the same time and think that’d she could do both, reguardless if if it was only a 10 day shoot. It’s a blessing in disguise anyway for her.

Who in their right mind would turn down a movie with Dustin Hoffman and Paul Giamatti? No offense to other twilighters, but twilight is not “The Godfather”. Everybody knows that good indie films tend to bring praise and awards down with them.

Summit just jumped at the opportunity to have a better known actress play Victoria, can’t blame them.

Rachelle should have known better than to start filming two movies at the same time and think that’d she could do both, reguardless if if it was only a 10 day shoot. It’s a blessing in disguise anyway for her.

Who in their right mind would turn down a movie with Dustin Hoffman and Paul Giamatti? No offense to other twilighters, but twilight is not “The Godfather”. Everybody knows that good indie films tend to bring praise and awards down with them.

and Summit just jumped at the opportunity to have a better known actress play Victoria, can’t blame them.

As much as I hate it when movie corporations change up their actors in sequels I do agree with Janicia in the respect that Rachelle should have known better than to start two movies at the same time and think that she could to it.

However, I feel like this is becoming a “he said” “she said” thing and that’s not good. I don’t know the new actor who is going to play Victoria in Eclipse well, but I’m sure she’ll bring something new to the screen.

But I do wish Sumitt would have decided to work things out a little more with Rachelle and her schedule. And not just jump at the moment to cast somebody new.

if it is true that she double booked herself, then that is not right. However, I know they specifically shot all of ‘James’s’ scenes first, in twilight, because he had conficts. In the end though no matter who we complain to, it won’t matter. We need to start accepting that Bryce will be Victoria. She is a very talented actress, so as much as we miss RL, let’s be fair and not slam Bryce for something that is not her fault. This is between Summit & RL.
‘What we have hear is a failure to comunicate.’ (is anyone on this site old enough to know where that came from, or did I just give my age away!?!)

why in the world should Summit listen to the fans?

What was the reaction when Robert Pattinson was first cast as Edward Cullen? And where is he now? A major heartthrob and the majority of the fans LOVE him as Edward.

What was the reaction when Catherine Hardwicke was replaced? And look at all the wonderful things Chris Weitz has done with New Moon. New Moon is looking to be SOOO much better than Twilight. (I loved Twilight the movie, but only because it was Twilight.)

I’m not thrilled about David Slade but willing to give him a chance.

Now that said, I’m very sad about Rachelle Lefevre being replaced. It sounds like she and/or her management team made an error in judgment, but why aren’t Summit AND the other movie’s company willing to work with her on a solution? It makes me feel that Summit and/or David Slade was already thinking about replacing her (and who to replace her with), especially given how quickly it all happened.

The bottom line is, it’s not going to stop me from seeing Eclipse, and I’ll bet the same is true for the vast majority of the fans. (anyone not going to see New Moon because Sam and Embry’s characters were re-cast? Yeah, I thought so.)

And I have to wonder what the reaction will be after Eclipse comes out. Will there be a 180-degree reaction from fans like there was with RP and CH?

It seems to me that there might have been another issue behind this… That maybe Summit realized this role was pretty huge, and didn’t think Rachelle was up for it. She is a relative unknown, unlike Bryce, and maybe they wanted someone with a more impressive resume…
This whole thing just sounds so PICKY. Like Summit was LOOKING for a reason to fire *ahem* recast Victoria. Like they wanted something to tell the press and public without having to forthrightly attack Rachelle’s talent. It all comes down to money. If Bryce is a better actress, she does a better job, they sell more tickets. Cha-ching! And the fact that they apparently didn’t even contact Rachelle with a warning, not giving her a chance to drop Barney’s Version and be free for those irreplaceable, inflexible 10 days, supports my theory that they didn’t actually care about the scheduling, they cared about the $$$$ that would come from a more experienced actress. Dont’ get me wrong, I really like Rachelle! But I’ve never seen her in anything besides Twilight.
It makes me sick that books we love so much has come to this.

Alright..I spoke my thoughts and apparently some of you didn’t like what I had to say and had to resort to childish retorts.

Look, I don’t work for Summit. But I enjoyed the backlash my comments have gotten. I rarely post here and when I do, its usually just for information. I happen to work for a movie theater and I enjoy Twilight (the books more than the movie, but the movie was good). I get some info a bit early on trailers and such in my job. I try to help out fellow fans (although I’m obviously not as RABID as some) and give info. I saw a topic that I had a different point of view on and decided to jump in with apparently some bad results.

“Jim, it appears to me that you work for Summit! At least by what you say, you have pretty strong feelings for their business practices. I can’t imagine any Twilighter (who didn’t have ties to them) being so hot for Summit without considering Rachelle’s position first. Where did you come from?”

I appreciate healthy debates and the sharing of ideas, but I don’t appreciate being called out in this manner.

Seems like some fans can’t take the reality of the situation. I’m a realist. I’m not hot for Summit. Apparently the love for Twilight for a lot of fans clouds the obvious answers to the business world and how things work.

I will say again…I think it was crappy of Rachelle to think the movie timeline could be tweaked just for her on such short notice and not tell Summit until just a few weeks before shooting. I think it was crappy of Summit for ousting her in such a public manner. I think they’re BOTH childish for the bull that’s going on now.

But what’s done is done. Bryce is in…Rachelle is out. There’s not enough signatures in the world to get Rachelle back in the film at this point. Its too close to filming and they’ve got another contract on the film to fulfill by signing Bryce. Face facts folks, when it comes to the final showdown with Victoria, it’ll be Bryce you’ll be seeing and not Rachelle. I’ll say again…I like Rachelle but its just how its gonna be.

Jim – no worries. I liked your thoughts from the beginning. I think people were just in the heat of the moment.

Wow there are some real immature people on this board. The fact is she made a decision (obviously not a smart one), the producers had alerted all the actors of the impending schedule for a eclipse but left them a little time before shooting to maybe fit in a role or two. Now speaking as a professional actor (who has worked on a film or two) you have to be wise when you make these decisions because there is a business side to acting and 90% of it is TIME MANAGEMENT and the reality is that a shooting schedule CANNOT be altered once completed because you would lose a lot of money and on a big production like this you would probably lose a couple thousand a day because of rescheduling so this is no joke people. I do agree that Summit may not have handled it professionally but you have to realize that they are a greenhorn production company from what I’ve heard and they are rushing shooting schedules (they probably don’t want potential movie goers to lose interest) so if you are aware you can’t shoot a role to close to filming why would you sign on?

One last thing a lot of people have been giving Summit flack not just for this but for many other ridiculous reasons that I can’t remember and the funny thing is at the end of the day all these so called fans (or Twi-hards) are going to see the film regardless, I’m not trying to say fans of this series are unintelligent because then I could say the same about the Spiderman fans (God the last two films were horrible!) but seriously people lighten up! And besides if Bryce Dallas Howard turns out to be terrible at least you’ll see Jacob Black and Edward Cullen shirtless.

like some others have said summit did obviously not bother it out, i think they will definately loose some money as rachelle would have been a cheaper actress, and as some people have said they will not see the film if rachelle is not in it, they obviously thought higher profile actress = will need to be paid more but in the long run more people will see the movie. what idiots, god some of these summit people should go online and check out these polls and petitions we awesome twilighters have, saying get the heck ridof bryce and bring back rachelle. people don’t like change, and as someone else said i also wouldn’tbe very surprised if her dad is one of the people who they just happen to consider as a director for breaking dawn, even though that would be stupid on their part cause all that would do is certisy and give us real proof of what we already know. then soo many more people will be angry. christ its only a 10day overlap summit your filmign for like 3 months ot would probs only take like 1-2 weeks out of 12 to film rachelles part and you could probs bet that the overlap wasnt when she was even suppsoed to be filming or rehersing either since it is such a short time.
go and sign a petition like i just have dont give up
TEAM RACHELLE