Bryce Dallas Howard Joins The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Source: Summit Entertainment
July 28, 2009

Summit Entertainment announced today that actress Bryce Dallas Howard, most recently seen in McG's Terminator Salvation, will be replacing Rachelle Lefevre in the role of Victoria for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, the third film in the series directed by David Slade (30 Days of Night). The reason given for the casting change was Lefevre's scheduling conflicts for another film to which she was committed.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is scheduled for release on June 30, 2010. You can read the official press release from Summit Entertainment below:



Summit Entertainment announced today that Bryce Dallas Howard will take over the role of “Victoria” in the studio’s upcoming production of THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE. Actress, Rachelle Lefevre, who portrayed the character in TWILIGHT as well as the upcoming release of THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON, will not continue in the role due to scheduling conflicts with another commitment the actor has made. THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE will start filming in Vancouver this coming August.


THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE, the third film in the studio’s TWILIGHT film franchise based on Stephenie Meyer’s blockbuster book series, will be directed by David Slade from a screenplay written by Melissa Rosenberg. The film will be released theatrically in North America on Wednesday, June 30, 2010.


“We are incredibly happy that Bryce has agreed to come into the franchise,” said Erik Feig, Summit’s President of Worldwide Production and Acquisitions. “Rachelle brought “Victoria” to great screen life and Bryce will bring a new dimension to the character. The franchise is lucky to have such a talented actress as Bryce coming in to fill the role.”


Howard most recently starred in TERMINATOR SALVATION as Kate Connor and has been seen in SPIDER-MAN 3, LADY IN THE WATER, and THE VILLAGE. She was nominated for a Golden Globe for her leading performance as an actress in the HBO film AS YOU LIKE IT.


In THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger as Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob — knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella is confronted with the most important decision of her life.

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Lefevre Stunned By Twilight Casting News
29 July 2009 6:31 PM, PDT

Actress Rachelle Lefevre has been left stunned by the news Bryce Dallas Howard is to take her role in the third Twilight drama - because she thought the part was hers indefinitely.

Lefevre played flame-haired vampire Victoria in the first Twilight film, and will reprise the role in the upcoming sequel New Moon - but producers at Summit Entertainment have opted to replace her with the Spider-Man 3 star for the third film, Eclipse over a "scheduling problem".

In a statement, the actress reveals she had no idea her Twilight time was about to end.

She says, "I was fully committed to the Twilight saga... I turned down several other film opportunities and, in accordance with my contractual rights, accepted only roles that would involve very short shooting schedules."

But it seems her decision to take a role in the movie adaptation of Mordecai Richler novel Barney’s Version upset her Twilight bosses.

Lefevre adds, "Summit (producers) said they had a conflict... 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 honour it. Summit chose simply to recast the part."

The actress insists she's "greatly saddened" and "hurt deeply" by Summit’s "surprising decision to move on without me."

-IMDB News




Movie Bosses Fuming Over Lefevre's Outburst
30 July 2009 1:11 AM, PDT

Movie bosses have hit back at actress Rachelle Lefevre after she accused them of unfairly dismissing her from Twilight sequel Eclipse - insisting the star showed "a lack of cooperative spirit" by signing up to an "overlapping" film project.

The red head played villainous vampire Victoria in the first film, and will reprise the role in the upcoming sequel New Moon.

Lefevre was "stunned" and "hurt deeply" to learn that producers at Summit Entertainment had decided to replace her for the third movie, Eclipse, handing her part to Bryce Dallas Howard.

Lefevre admits she had signed up to star in another movie, Barney’s Version, and the production slightly overlapped scheduled shooting on Eclipse - but never thought she "would lose the role over a 10 day overlap".

Her comments have infuriated executives at Summit, who have released their own statement to clarify why they dismissed Lefevre.

The producers claim the actress waited over a month to tell them about her plans to star in Barney’s Version - and they could not change the movie schedule to allow her to leave the shoot 10 days early.

The statement reads, "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.

"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. 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.”

“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.”

-IMDB News