Rachelle Lefevre vs Summit – Will There Be Blood?

The controversy over swapping out actresses to play vampire villain Victoria in the Twilight Saga‘s 3rd installment, Eclipse seems to be turning into a real blood war. Summit Entertainment announced yesterday that Bryce Dallas Howard would be replacing Rachelle Lefevre as Victoria in Eclipse due to scheduling conflicts involving Lefevre participating in another movie, a Paul Giamatti indie film called Barney’s Version.

After this announcement, questions were raised as to why Lefevre, an unknown actress, would walk away from the role of a lifetime in favor of a supporting role in an indie film as one of Giamatti’s three wives, a Canadian co-production without distribution? She was either making the worst career move of her life, or there was something else going on.

Today Lefevre issued the following statement, saying she was as stunned as the fans are:
“I was stunned by Summit‘s decision to recast the role of Victoria for Eclipse. I was fully committed to the Twilight Saga, and to the portrayal of Victoria. 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. 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.”

Summit Entertainment responded in a public statement:
“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.”

This raises the question, is this a case of an uncooperative actress whining about her bad behavior, or a studio coming up with a ruse to push a smaller name off a project in favor of a bigger one. It’s impossible to know whose version is closer to the truth. But in the past, studios have replaced small names with bigger ones when a franchise becomes very successful, which doesn’t provide an entirely favorable precedent for Summit. Also to consider, if it was absolutely necessary to recast the part — even if Lefevre was being uncooperative — why wouldn’t Summit make sure that everything was squared away with her before announcing that she was being replaced. Wouldn’t they want to keep her from causing problems?

Maybe they did, and Lefevre caused trouble anyway. Either way, it’s a problem. More than likely this will prompt industry chatter about how Summit deals with talent on its biggest franchise. You may recall that a similar issue developed on New Moon when Catherine Hardwicke was replaced by Chris Weitz. That incident was briefly a PR scandal, and this may be as well. Fans are protesting, starting petitions to get Lefevre reinstated and calling on Summit to keep with its original plan.

In any case, this will surely keep the Twilight Saga in the public eye, as if we really needed any more prompting to have continuous interest and discussions about the franchise and it’s cast.

SOURCES: Risky Biz Blog & ComingSoon.net