Dear Summit-
We have one question for you: WHY?
We’ve never written you a letter before, but I think it’s time to break our silence. Now that we’ve read both the personal statement from Rachelle, your Press Release sighting “scheduling conflicts,” and now the 2nd press release sighting another film, we’d like to know the REAL REASON WHY the character of Victoria was recast. With only one film left to go in Victoria’s character arc, this is one of the biggest surprise moves you could have pulled (and at the 11th hour we might add.)
Now don’t immediately write us off as some simpering fansite looking for something to write about. We know the entertainment business is a fickle and mean bitch. Deals are created, moves are made, everything’s political, believe me: we KNOW! We both have worked and continue to work in entertainment and understand stuff happens schedules conflict, contract options don’t get picked up, and there are ALWAYS two sides to every story, but that’s not what happened here. It is clear from both your statement and Rachelle’s that she was screwed. She admits a scheduling conflict that you were trying to work through it and says she would have dropped the movie Barney’s Version if she had known her role as Victoria was going to be recast. So the question remains and we want to know, WHY?
Follow the cut to see our full letter and some of our guesses as to why…
I think if there had been a plausible reason presented from BOTH parties this would be a lot easier to understand. But you have yet to provide a real reason other than a “scheduling conflict” and now an “uncooperative spirit” so you can understand why there is such an outcry from the fans. Considering the uproar, yesterday, on Twitter, blogs, texts and email you’d think this was a world crisis, after all 4 of the top 10 Trending Topics on Twitter yesterday were related to Rachelle and the Victoria situation! Imagine if you could use this power for good. Imagine being up front about the situation and really explaining why than you might not have such a black eye right now.
It seems like such a far cry from just a short week ago when Twihards were all abuzz with the news coming out of Comic Con. You were in their good graces, fans were excited about New Moon and you should have ridden that wave, but my how quickly things can change. If you were just more open with the fans I think a lot of this could be circumvented but since you won’t explain WHY we can only assume the recast for was nefarious reasons… or maybe in fact for some of the reasons we’ve come up with…
- You recognized how AWESOME we are and wanted to cast us both as Victoria but didn’t want to reveal our true identities so you gave us the name “Bryce Dallas Howard.” I hate to tell you this, but it’s already taken. Oopsie.
- You’re courting Ron Howard for a future Summit project and in a sign of goodwill cast his daughter in this role
- Money! Doesn’t it always come down to money? But we have a hard time believing that you’re pinching pennies what with the sales of Twilight Body Glitter through the roof. Remember Twilight merchandise almost saved our economy!
And ya know who knows maybe you’re telling the God’s honest truth and Rachelle is a dirty liar but you gotta remember something: You would still be nothing but a small fledgling studio if you hadn’t made the decision to turn Twilight into a movie. Because Twilight is nothing without it’s fans and if you alienate them than you are back to square one.
Now we know we we don’t work for you and we don’t have billions of dollars and we’re not on your speed dial or even on your mind most of the time, which is a sad fact we’re all quickly realizing, but we are FANS first and foremost and together we have a voice. We’re the ones who came out in droves to see this movie, we’re the ones who put almost 400 million dollars in your pocket. And we’re also the ones who can make or break your next project. Never underestimate the power of a fan.
Whatever happens will happen and we’re sure Bryce will do a lovely job as she is a great actress, but it’s the way you went about this and the shifty undertones that permeiated the whole process. It’s totally put a damper on the good thing you had going.
WHY?
Themoonisdown and UnintendedChoice
PS A word to the wise: when you issue a 2nd press release at 730 in the evening, make sure whoever is writing it took a xanax before- because what you put out reads like copy written from a pissed off woman who had to cancel her dinner reservations with her boyfriend at Mozza, and we all know what a pain it is to get into that place. Youch!
Filed under: Twilight, Twilight Fans, Real Talk, Twi Characters, Twilight Actors, Eclipse, Twilight News, Rachelle Lefevre, New Moon movie, Victoria | Tagged: angry, Barney's Version, behind the scenes, bitchy, body glitter, Bryce Dallas Howard, cast, Comic Con 2009, conflict, drama, Eclipse, fangirls, fans, fight, filming, gossip, location, marketing, Merchandise, New Moon, nomad, politics, pr, press release, Rachelle Lefevre, recast, Ron Howard, Rumors, scheduling, shock, spokesperson, story, summit, summit entertainment, surprise, Twilight, twitter, upset, Vampire, Victoria, why?, xanax |
Letters to Twilight 
It is rather ridiculous. I just don’t understand.
The only reason to re-cast a role is when the actor dies or is a major druggie or nutcase or whatever. I was okay with a new Dumbledore. But a new Victoria? Just because. It just doesn’t make sense to me.
This situation reeks! Rachelle as an uncooperative spirit also reeks. As others have said she was ALWAYS a genuinely happy, friendly and enthusiastic person during interviews as well as gracious with the fans. The Team Switzerland spin or how about censorship is gawd-awful. To also shut down the ability for fans to post comments is unbelievable. Does Summit really hold a mighty hand? Shameful!
Let’s admit it, Twilight was sloppily made. But switching actresses in the middle of the franchise? That’s Sloppy with a capital S.
a capital S!
Maybe the time she will be spending in Rome to shoot her next movie is at the same time that her fight scene is? Usually when they havevcertaim scenes at certain times they can’t just change it on short notice (according to summit it’s short notice) because then you’d have to change a lot of other scenes around to fit the schedual..?
Idk, those are just my ideas.
very true i think the real issue lies in the fact they just went ahead and fired her without trying to give advance notice. like hey this isn’t cool, that other movie doesnt work into our schedule, can you please see if they can change their shooting schedule or drop the movie or we’ll have to replace you as victoria. it just seems like the shot first and asked questions later
I totally agree. I got the impression that Summit announced the replacement before letting Rachelle know… which is underhanded and wrong.
And, Rachelle was talking about filming Eclipse just last week at the fan screenings.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruB3XAGQwGI starting @ 1:50
She seemed sure she was doing the movie. I really do think she was blindsided…
i agree.. i don’t think she knew
So sad for Rachelle.
carma is a bitch watch out Summit!
Nice written btw!
Honestly, I love Rachelle and am really bummed. In fact, there are few other Twilight characters I don’t think could be replaced (Rob – of course! and Carlisle). She is Victoria for me so not seeing her in the movies will be weird.
As I was blow drying my hair this morning, I totally had the same thought – Summit is doing this to get into Ron Howard’s pants. I hope that she can pull it off.
That’s what she said! HA!
i love that you were thinking of these things while blow drying your hair! THATS NORMAL!
Summit is on my nerves!! It makes no sense. If they can re-cast Victoria…then Kristen Stuart should be next! Her lack o acting skills is ruining the saga. Her damn lip thing and the slurp of air that she takes in with it like someone is pulling a splinter out does not consitiute GOOD ACTING!! The trailers were awesome sans Kristen. At this point I am positive that a trained monkey has more acting chops than KSHREW!!!
HAHAHA i think at this point they shouldnt make any major decisions like this. HELLO folks.
I agree with you oversummit. I also think by getting rid of Rachelle they are getting rid of a great promoter of the series. In interviews she’s funny, smart, nice about the books/ fans/ franchise and so unlike Kstoned. Seriously, do summit not realise how much they need a cast member who can be NICE about the films. It goes without saying that she was awesome as Victoria. It’s put a crimp in my anticipation of the films to come.
@ Verity Yeah, they need more adult “professional” type to deal with he press and fans, I agree “.Kstone” was bizzare in those last appearences at ComicCon.
Rachelle L. was if anything, very professional about marketing the movie for Summit ,nice to the fans and press.. Hope she does well in whatever is down the road for her career/acting wise.
Yes! Rachelle was a poised and articulate cast ‘spokeswoman’! I met her when she was in Salt Lake and she was genuine. I haven’t met all that many celebrities… but I’m pretty sure genuine and heck! even happy is hard to come by in Hollywood! I am torn up about Rachelle no longer being a part of the franchise. In my opinion she was the epitome of Victoria. My face is sad.
Dear Moon and UC,
You rule.
Oh, and thanks for penning this letter. Other Twi fan sites are “staying out of it” and while that seems (a) professional–to some, (b) the mature thing to do, and (c) to prove their fearfulness at pissing off Summit Entertainment, a company who doesn’t visit Twilight sites in the first place, I want to applaud you for not being total pansies and acting in the same manner as some of the so-called “big guns.” (You know…those LAME sites who think they are the shiz just because Stephanie Meyer off-handedly mentioned them in some random interview. Ahem.)
The fans are hurt…confused…angry…and as passionate as ever about this series of books/movies. Thank you for recognizing that and addressing the issue with your own special brand of tact, snark, grace, and humor. I only wish Miss Lefevre would read this. And then be our BFF and let us braid her hair and stuff. I’m just sayin’.
Love,
Me
p.s. I also want to thank you for not attending Twilight-related events while wearing a superhero cape. ‘Cause we’d be breaking up if y’all ever did such as that. Just so you know.
I totally agree with you Leigh Anne!! Like I just twitted ” I HATE “SWITZERLAND” PEOPLE & WEBSITES. You have to take sides in life even if you’re wrong and have to say sorry later.”
I love that Moon and UC have the guts to say what they feel instead of trying to please the PTB.
Well done girls!!!!
Love,
ANDREA
AMEN!! Sing it: You have to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything.
XO
*note to self: don’t tell LeighAnne about Edward panties I am currently wearing…
DUDE! If Hot Topic makes Edward britches, wonder if they’ll have some with Eric Northman’s likeness? How ’bout my Jason? Or, oooooohhhh…ARAGORN!
p.s. Text pic of said britches, please. Even if they’re really not emblazoned with Edward’s face. I need new pics for this new phone. And you know what kind of pics I mean. Thankyouverymuch.
The Edward “thong”… rides you in the middle… next up “butt crack santa pants”…
I have put in a special request for these pics. Of course I want to get in on the action.
Leigh Anne, bravo on your comment.
UC and MOON you know I heart you something bad.
we’ve never professed to be professional, mature of fearful so WIN!
🙂
some things just have to be said and we felt this was one of them. glad you all agree
I’d love to braid Rachelles hair. I’m totes jealous of the pre-raphaelite thing she has going on.
Basically, Summit sucks. They can bite me. And I do not mean that in a funny-Twilight-pun sorta way. WHY?? on Earth would they do that? I mean, clearly they’ve gone completely mental and forgot who they were dealing with (because we alllll know how crazy TwiFans can get). Bottom line is: Rachelle totally rocked Victoria (even making me LIKE Victoria) and replacing her mid-series is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard. Perhaps after all the backlash they’ll change their mind?
Here’s to hoping!
Jayde xox
I’m not so thrilled either but unfortunately, it’s all out there now and I highly doubt Summit will change their minds. ‘They’re the big, bad studio and they’re in charge.’ It wouldn’t reflect well on them in Hollywood’s eyes to run back to Rachelle with their tail between their legs.
Yeh I know 😦
I thought about this and I know you are right. They won’t go back but of course if whole fandom revolts there will be some major discussions.
“ehh Its just Victoria” is what i first thought when they said she couldnt do it because of scheduling conflict BUT its a different story if Rachelle can actually do the role but theyve given it to someone else.
Shame on you Summit!!! Changing actresses half way through a saga is pretty shady. And even more shady is not giving the honest reason as to why!
i think thats the real issue because she says she WANTS and CAN do the role and that they were trying to work out scheduling. maybe it’s all lies but at least state that or try to work things out
@ Biance & Moon;
Perhaps it was a disagreement over $$ money? and other opportunities that Summit did not give her. They could have tosses another movie to do her way, like they did with Rob. ..
I agree Summit changing actresses half way through is pretty odd. The director would have had to buy in on that one. On the otherhand, they wanted to get rid of the kid that plays Jacob as well. Whos next?…hmm Nikki? lol
Isnt Bryce Dallas Howard, some big shot director’s daughter (Ron Howard?) could that have something to do with it?
well said… well speculated and well… yeah that’s it…
it’s like when divorces site “irreconcilable differences” (not married nor divorced so not speaking from personal experience) but… it’s the blanket term when no one wants to give the real reason for the divorce…
scheduling conflicts = “irreconcilable differences”
in my book…
waiting for Rachelle’s tell all or the E! true hollywood story (someone else tweeted that and you get credit, wish i could remember who) Mrs JBell?
scheduling conflicts = “irreconcilable differences”
HAHAHAHA
and yes i was totally thinking about the twilight true hollywood story in a few years while i was getting ready last night! this will be a big part of it!
“…make sure whoever is writing it took a xanax before because what you put out reads like copy written from a pissed off woman who had to cancel her dinner reservations with her boyfriend at Mozza…”
bahhahhahahahaha
seriously though, that was THE bitchiest press release i’ve read. got it’s called tact and discernment people no matter how pissed off you are.
Dear Moon and UC:
WOW! I always come here to start my day with a happy note, meaning I come here to read silly and clever things that make me LMAO.
But this is one of the most accurate, clear things I have read about the “Twilight phenomenon” lately.
“And ya know who knows maybe you’re telling the God’s honest truth and Rachelle is a dirty liar but you gotta remember something: You would still be nothing but a small fledgling studio if you hadn’t made the decision to turn Twilight into a movie. Because Twilight is nothing without it’s fans and if you alienate them than you are back to square one.
Now we know we we don’t work for you and we don’t have billions of dollars and we’re not on your speed dial or even on your mind most of the time, which is a sad fact we’re all quickly realizing, but we are FANS first and foremost and together we have a voice. We’re the ones who came out in droves to see this movie, we’re the ones who put almost 400 million dollars in your pocket. And we’re also the ones who can make or break your next project. Never underestimate the power of a fan.
I was thinking exactly the same. WE MADE THE TWILIGHT PHENOMENON. And incredible as it sounds, Twilight fans saved several companies and peoples asses consuming their Twilight related goods or services (Pattinson pants Lady alone saved the iron on transfer industry!). And as a “consumer” I say I want a good quality product which involves (among other) a continuity in the actors playing the roles.
Wake up, Summit (and all involved companies)!!
WE HAVE THE MONEY. And we want Rachelle as Victoria and all the other actors in their roles. WE DON’T WANT REPLACEMENTS!!!
What happened to “the costumer is always right”?
Bravo UC and Moon!!!
You rock, as always.
Love,
ANDREA
yeah, but Summit has Rob and Rob is who we want to see. Fans won’t turn against Summit until after millions more are made off of NM, Eclipse and BD because we love Rob as Edward.
Go straight to jail, do not pass Go, do not collect $200 for all other players.
“Pattinson pants Lady alone saved the iron on transfer industry!”
HAHAHA TRUE STORY!
😉 Glad you agree!!! 😀
I really agree with you Andrea. If it wasn’t for us fans Twilight would still just be a book and no one would know who Robert Pattinson is. It’s us the FANS who work our butts off to have money to spend it on Twilight merchandise and wait in lines for midnight showings. Rachelle is one of the few actors that understands that and knows to value the fans and consumers, if Summit doesn’t understand that then it’s THEIR loss.
Sincerely,
Veronica
Thanks!!
You are right, some fans work really hard to afford watching the movie, buying the DVD or merchandise, etc. Rachelle always appreciated that and showed her love for the fans.
Even when she had a relatively small part in Twilight she was an excellent promoter of the movie (unless another actress I won’t mention by name)
Summit really f***** up this one.
Hugs to you and the other LTT-ers (but not to Summit)
ANDREA
The replacement really, really blows. Bad move, Summit. However, I know what they are thinking right now. They know the TwiFans are not going to NOT go see Eclipse because of it (honestly, will you miss the leg hitch scene for anything???). They know they will get our money anyway and have us by the balls. That’s just dirty, Summit.
You are right. We are going to see Eclipse anyway BUT we will make enough noise now, in the New Moon premiere and the Eclipse premiere that will cost Summit some money in trying to reverse the bad publicity. I’m sure they won’t like that 🙂
Hugs,
ANDREA
well stated! this makes me sad especially since eclipse in is the last film in which victioria is in.
This BREAKS my heart. Summit is acting like a damn child, releasing a second statement putting all the blame on Rachelle.
I know Victoria is not that big a character, but it still matters and it’s still shitty on so many levels.
She is one of the FEW in the cast who is genuinely passionate about her role, the books and the whole thing. She is consistently happy and enjoying herself promoting the movies, as she was doing as recently as last week at Robic Con. She’s been NOTHING but gracious and professional about the often crazy world of Twilight fans.
This is shitty, shady, disrespectful, unprofessional, hurtful and insulting to Rachelle, mostly, but also to us, the fans. I’d like to think actors are not commodities you can throw away whenever you disagree.
And I know we don’t know all the details, but we know what the worst thing is, because it’s PAINFULLY obvious, is the way this was handled by Summit. Making her think it’s ok for her to film Barney’s Version, only to change their mind at the last possible fucking second??? Rehearsals are starting next week, for fuck’s sake!!!! And for them to cast someone else (with all that it entails) means they’ve been thinking about this for a damn long time. And they let her go to Robic Con with her castmates to promote New Moon (which, again, she clearly enjoyed: she seems to geniunely like all her castmates, and VICE VERSA. You can see she’s a good person and was well liked), only to wait for the day after it’s over to tell her she’s not going to be playing Victoria anymore? That’s bullshit. When they realised (or decided) there was a scheduling conflict, they should’ve given her the choice. It doesn’t even seem like they did at all. They just went up to her and said, oh, by the way, someone else is gonna play Victoria now.
And if she HAD broken the terms of her contract, they would either have MADE her drop Barney’s Version, or they would be suing her. Which they’re not. Which obviously mean she did NOTHING wrong.
Wow, this was long. But I wrote an email to Summit people last night so my arguments are all fresh in my memory. heh.
I totally agree!! 😉
Katie (@vampirefreak101) tweeted 2 very interesting messages a few minutes ago:
1. summit, how did u re cast the role so quickly?! these things take time. .. unless u had already thought about re casting.
2. i seriously cant believe that BD Howard was available for 3 months,with 2 weeks notice. if she’s that good an actress, why is she not busy?
To which I must add, why did they invite her to Comic Con? She was obviously unaware of the re-casting last week or she wouldn’t have been in such a good mood. That was deceiving for her and for us!! BAD, BAD SUMMIT!!!!!
Hugs,
ANDREA
Exactly what I was thinking too! Summit says Rachelle’s reps didn’t inform them she wouldn’t be available until July 20th – and they were able to get someone through all the contract rigamorale in less than 9 days? Bull to the shit!!
The only point I will concede to Summit on is that 10 days prob does make a big difference in schedules for stars like Rob – think of how busy he is and how tight it has to be for him to go from movie to movie. Granted, Victoria and Edward don’t face off until the end of the movie, but we don’t know how long it takes to get all the hundreds of other details lined up to make those scenes work.
The only point I will concede to Summit on is that 10 days prob does make a big difference in schedules for stars like Rob – think of how busy he is and how tight it has to be for him to go from movie to movie.
you are right BUT if it’s true that Rachelle only let them know her schedule on July 20th (and we are not sure that it’s true) why didn’t they tell her: you have to choose between Barney’s and Eclipse? I’m almost 100% sure Rachelle would have chosen Eclipse. Why?
1. Because she always showed her commitment to the character and the “franchise” (God, I hate that word!)
2. Because Eclipse would give her much more exposure (magazine covers, TV interviews, internet buzz) than Barney’s
3. Because in movie business it’s much more important how much your last movie made than who you worked with. There are a couple big names in Barney’s but Eclipse will make a lot more money in the box office.
So, please Summit, don’t give that BS!!!
Hugs to you and all the LTT-ers!!
(not to Summit)
ANDREA
Moon, I totally agree with you on that last part. The second press release sounded very much like a teenage catfight. I was almost expecting them to say “she started it”
I realize at this point there is very little that can be done about the situation. And I am sure Summit knows that Twilight is like a drug for us and that we won’t have the strength to do anything drastic, which makes me really sad. But more than that, I feel like a fool cuz they gave us this really crappy version of a story we love so much and we totally ate it up …they gave us these actors/characters and made us love them unconditionally …and now they are completely taking us, the fans, for granted. Sucessfully.
It’s true. Makes Summit look like they don’t give one ounce of care about the fans. Which sucks because the fans are what made Summit what it is today. Ugh….Hollywood!
The cost Summit will pay is all the bad press and all the money they will have to invest in PR. I hope it’ll cost them tons of money!!!!
I’m still pissed. And why do this to an actress that had one more film left out of 3 and who all fans loved in the part? And this occurance really isn’t going to help Bryce out much because now the majority of fans are going to blast her for being in a part nobody wants her in. This is all a bunch of fuckery and Summit better get their shit together. Poor Rachelle. I feel for her and will miss her and I hope the cast pulls together and rips the CEO a new one!
Makes me think of when Rob told ET’s Thea Andrews regarding the Oscars: “Ron Howard came up to me and wanted a photo. I was like ‘uh….why?’ ” (Ron’s Bryce’s dad)
Jena, you got the main reason.
Please don’t think I’m being snarky, but do people truly believe that Ron Howard is hurting for attention from Summit? Or that he pulled some strings to get his daughter cast? Because as far as I could see she seemed to be trying to make a name for herself on her own merit, but maybe I missed something. Is there a Ron Howard Summit connection?
no i think it’s tyhe OTHER way around summit it trying to make the ron howard connection. they probably want him to direct some movie they have waiting.
Ooooooh….Duh! I didn’t even think of that. I could never make it in show biz. I have no idea how to fight dirty.
No, I don’t think that Ron Howard is hurting for attention from Summit. I just posted that because it reminded me of when Rob said he wanted a photo and I thought it was as strange coincidence and it made me laugh. That’s all, LOL!
I got it now 🙂 I was just confused because on other comment boards people were writing that they hired Bryce because Ron Howard wants to direct Breaking Dawn and I found this to be completely laughable.
Ron Howard would scoff at the idea. Breaking Dawn is like the ‘Ishtar’ of the series. Imprinting on babies and whatnot, it’s like something out of an Ed Wood film.
Jena, my thoughts exactly. I wonder if Bryce is wanting some Rob and sent “Daddy” to do a little scouting for her?? Diabolic–Batman, I woujld have done it if Ron was my papa. word.
Fuck Summit.
I’m still too agro about it to form any coherent sentences on the subject more than that atm.
deep breaths… in and out
(thats what i said)
Bryce Dallas Howard is a horrible actress. She’s incredibly wooden, and I’ve never enjoyed a single one of her performances. The whole thing stinks, and not just because of the way it was done. They’ve downgraded in terms of talent here.
This is just reiterating what everyone is saying, but really, where are their heads? FANS MADE TWILIGHT. We have POWER. Those MTV awards? Ahem, Twilight was NOT the best movie compared to the others nominated, but it won because we MADE it win. We voted. And voted. And voted.
Twi fans love this series unconditionally and need to see it done the RIGHT way. Re-casting actors we love (even though they don’t actually have a lot of screen time) is a BAD move. We love Rachelle because of how she is OUTSIDE of Twilight, as well. She’s amazingly gracious, and friendly, and grateful, not to mention beautiful. I’m really saddned by how all this went down and, even if a resolution comes of it, don’t see how Rachelle would want to return to the franchise. Others have said that she might do it, even with the animosity, because she loves the fans and would want to please us. She’s AMAZING like that.
This has all just left a bad taste in my mouth. And after the positivity that resulted out of ComiCon? It just doesn’t make sense.
exactly marta! she was one of the awesome cast memebers OUTSIDE of filming. nice, genuine, gracious
Right on Marta! When are we burning our bras?
That was brilliant. I cringe at BDH thinking people don’t like her, because that is farther from the truth. But there isn’t something right here. My papa always used to say “if it waddles like a duck and quacks like a duck..then its probably a duck”…
the quickness of the recast, no comments from Ms. Howard herself. The bitchy press releases….SUMMIT! Get your shit together. You walk the razor edge of a knife anyway. Come on.
exactly we dont want her to think we hate her im sure BDH is a nice gal and would do a fabulous job! no issues with her!
What I wanna know is how can Summit find a replacement that soon? Unless they had their eyes set on her from earlier on to get in a big name director for any upcoming project(s)? How on earth can someone being cast THIS fast? This was a long time coming I think and they probably made their mind up earlier on and just make Rachelle as a scapegoat and hoping fans would support the studio.. fat chance of fans NOT realizing something weird is up. Twilight fans are NOT just gullible youngsters but ppl of all ages and those who WANT TO KNOW wtf is going on! Something is very fishy about this and yes Rachelle is the one that is royally screwed over! I hope she have a massive success in her career.
casting doesnt have to take forever, especially if she’s an established actress.
not to be a conspiracy theorist, but check out the july 16th press release from Summit about the casting of Riley. every character is listed with the actor portraying them listed in parentheses – ex: Bella (Kristen Stewart), Edward (Robert Pattinson). everyone that is, except Victoria. there is no one listed as an actor next to the name victoria.
personally, i think summit knew they were doing this BEFORE comic con but kept it under wraps so that they could bask in the glory that was new moon and comic con.
but, maybe i’m wrong.
You got an excellent point there! 😉
wow interesting……
AWESOME READ!! Great professional, but snarky job.
Fav part, the use of TOP SAT word: “nefarious”
PS thanks for posting video on LTR too
gotta use those words or i’ll lose them! thank you AP english class many MOONS ago 😉
Thank you for the wonderful blog (as usual). I agree with al of you, this is fishy. It just doesn’t feel right. I am a lobbyist and I unfortunately know all too well about back-room deals and “I’ll give you this for that..” Trust me Scummit would have had their back-up already lined up before this went down. I think there is more to this story but I don’t know if we will ever hear it.
Scummit took an amazing book and screwed it up majorly. I love Twilight and Rob, but the movie just sucked. It takes work and effort to screw up a world-wide best seller written in a very simplistic way and reproduce in a script. I think the worst casting choice ever was Nikki. But I digress…
I think Scummit screwed the pooch big time, again. I hope their execs are getting their asses handed to them right now.
a lobbyist?! well you DEFS know about shady underdealings then! god bless you!
*emerging from lurkdom because I am so pissed about this*
Summit=FAIL
Well done LTT for having the “balls” to stand up about this unlike those OTHERS who tweeted last night that “it doesn’t take balls to jump into a mob” Whatevs. I think they needed a Xanax last night too.
Did they not rearrange the Twilight shooting schedule because Cam Gigandet had a prior commitment so they shot the craptastic fight scene and the baseball scene first? So what is the deal here? I feel for Rachelle. She was obivously so excited about Eclipse as it is about Victoria’s wrath. She had been training hard for all the wirework. Hopefully BDH can get that kinda training in a week. Oh wait she CAN’T.
Summit=FAIL
welcome out of lurkdom!
love your name in light of this whole post! hahaa
I was thinking the exact same thing about Cam Gigandet from the very start of these Rachelle shenanigans. He wasn’t already established as a character, either. You would think that Scummit would work that much harder to keep an established (and loved) actor for continuity. Fuckery.
What makes me mad is that she was absolutely perfect for the role! She was in like 2 or 3 scenes in Twilight, so it’s not like she had loads of time to make an impact (ahem kstew). But she did her job and did it well. In the cheeseball, oops, baseball scene she looked calm and beautiful, yet you get the feeling there is something about her that’s not completely right. Like she’s kind of crazy, but it’s so subtle. I’ve seen Bryce DH act so I’m sure she won’t butcher the part, but she won’t be Victoria.
It sounds like Summit is getting greedy and selfish. The Twilight Saga won’t last forever; they need play nice if they want support after this series is over.
4 words: What.The.F**k.Summitt?!?!???!!!!! Really?? You’re changing actresses to a very important role now??? Bunch of bastards!!! Whatever keep pushing the fans and see what the consequences will be!!! Straight up f**king up is all I gotta say!
I knew something in the milk wasn’t clean yesterday afternoon – but with no real proof I just accepted that I was a bitter fan not wanting to see someone else as Victoria. *sigh* Shit like this makes me realize what a dirty, shady, and money hungry world the movie business is. Sadness.
Where is her agent in all of this?!
scrambling!
theyre the ones trying to patch it up and issued that statement im sure
Thanks for the post.. and the place to chime in on this topic.
After reading all press releases, the following saying comes to mind..”A guilty conscience needs no accuser”
Summit handled this situation poorly… what kind of surprises me is they handled it like a low budget production, like this franchise isn’t what it is. Look, we don’t expect them to consult with the Twilight Franchise fan base for all of their decisions. It’s their company.. but as intelligent educated fans, we don’t expect be treated as though we possess neither intelligence nor education.
As with any contract.. and I do mean ANY contract …10 days is not a deal breaker.. is it an inconvenience.. yes.. but not a deal breaker. Yes, it is a large cast… yes everyone has schedules, yes everyone involved has a career they are trying to be successful at.. and this runs top to bottom, Cast member to office worker for the production company. But I find it very hard to believe that ten days could not be worked around. It’s so insignificant when you are talking about a production that will run for what… like three months.
It’s that pacifying excuse that is so infuriating, beyond the basic human compassion we have for what has been done to Rachelle, the excuse is trite.
Look, Summit knew she was doing the other movie, if they didn’t shame on them for not having the team they should to be aware of this. That team should be fired. Rehearsal schedules … I’ve read the book, not the script obviously, but in the book.. Victoria’s physical presence is minimal on the grand scheme of the storyline. You mean to tell me that things couldn’t be rearranged to rehearse something else for 10 days? Really… So what you are telling us is that you are planning to film all of Victoria’s scenes first… and therefore Rachelle needed to be there from day one…..it’s almost ridiculous.
I’ve always held the following belief, in every story, there are three sides:
His Side
Her Side
and the truth
The last of these tends to be somewhere in the middle.
We are hurt that the character we watched be brought to life will change… and if it were a mutual parting, then we would be upset.. but not irate. This was obviously not mutual. Summit will not answer truthfully, because the truth will more than likely cast them in a bad light.
I’m sure Bryce will do a fine job, and this response in no way is meant to demean her talent, or ability to portray the character.. but part of the beauty of seeing Twilight brought to life, at least for me.. was the cast chemistry.
Summit, you don’t like the way Rachelle handled all of this… well kids, two wrongs don’t make a right, you didn’t handle it any better. Frankly we expect more from your think tank. I wish Summit would bring Rachelle back, no offence intended Bryce, but I know that they will not… does knowing that they have let down a huge fan base make them feel bad.. I doubt it. It’s business.. whether or not it was a very childish way to handle it doesn’t really matter.
It’s funny.. I’ll see the movie because I love the books… but it’s sort of like when I found out there was no Santa Clause… Christmas still came, I still got gifts.. but the magic was gone.. and that broke my heart…… Summit, you took away part of the magic, and in doing so you have broken our heart.
Sorry for the long post.. but I’m a little miffed!
love your thoughts!!
Just following your lead : ) Thanks!!
Very, very well said!
YEs! that’s it EXACTLY!!
Every time they pull these stunts, it’s as if they kill
“The Magic”…
I’m sure somewhere Unicorns are dying!!
Summit, look what you’ve DONE!
@Kelly,
You have set out one of my truths: the answer is always somewhere in the middle.
Wait… There’s no Santa?!?!?
Haha 😛
I know, right? Shit!
PREACH sista! im passing the mic to you!
I go on too long.. sorry : (.. but when someones gets my Irish going.. it’s a tough thing to control 🙂
I loved it! I amen it!
Well said. I kind of feel there is a little more to this. Twilight fans pack a lot of punch seeing other movies the actors are in. Bring in an actor that is signed up to do future Summit movie projects? Or maybe they finally got to see a rough cut of New Moon and found the performance didn’t hold up under different direction with miraculous schedule conflicts rather than sorry you just don’t cut the mustard press release?
I think the worst part is that it’s a bit of a slight towards Rachelle. I mean remember how Rob was meant to star in Parts Per Billion? If they dropped Rob then and cast someone like Zefron would you still have written letters to Rob?
You are my hero. Way to not suck up to Summit.
You two rule my world.
I love Rachelle and will miss her terribly, but am willing to give Bryce a chance. I certainly don’t want her to think she really is a ‘villain’ for stepping in as Victoria. Just wish this all was handled better.
Regardless of the scheduling conflicts, I think Summit was shitty in letting Rachelle know she’d been cast out only by hearing BDH had the part. They could have handled it better and Rachelle probably wouldn’t have been so hurt by it. If they had put their big boy pants on and sat down with her and her reps to let her know that they couldn’t accommodate her other movie schedule, then it probably wouldn’t have such a big backlash. Rachelle wouldn’t have been surprised by their decision and we wouldn’t have all this brouhaha going on.
Great job there Summit. Way to think it through. Ppl are talking about boycotting, but I won’t cause I want to see it and Rob. So in the end Summit wins, even though they suck, BOO!
Exactly! When Summit found out why didn’t they hold a meeting with Rachelle and her people and Summit and it’s people? Surely there could have been something worked out. Rachelle said herself that the shoot for this other film is only 10 days for her part. Couldn’t Summit have accomodated some switcheroos to make it work? Couldn’t they have talked with Rachelle and said “do you want this part or would you rather have this part, what is most important to you, and if you want both what can we do to make this work?” instead of canning her all together. It just seems so fishy to me.
As a fan, I feel like I’ve just been
“Bitch-Slapped”
by Summit…and as I told drunk dude who stepped on my foot at Comic Con, “I ain’t Nobody’s BITCH”
Summit needs to get their shizz together, and really explain why after being notified of scheduling conflicts on Jul. 20th, they had an actress all lined up, signed and ready to go….10 days later!! Really, something about this smells like Harry Clearwater’s after a day on the lake!
something about this smells like Harry Clearwater’s after a day on the lake!
HAHAHAHAHAA i ❤ you
BBBWWWAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Harry Clearwater after a day on the lake… LMFAO
BRIL!!!!!!
>>>>Really, something about this smells like Harry Clearwater’s after a day on the lake!<<<
LMAO!
What pisses me off is that summit knows they can pull ass wipe moves like this and get away with it. Of course we will still see the movie and of course we are still going to see remember me when it comes out. The fans are making them a hell of a lot of money I just think it’s disrespectful and I hope the entire cast breaks away from that production company as soon as they can.
Notice David Slade hasn’t twittered in a couple days?
Also notice no statement from Stephenie to calm the fans down.
It would be different if they had recast after twilight but seriously fire her after she’s done 2 out of 3. I’m sad I won’t see rob rip her pretty little head off
Oh and I was SHOCKED at the tone of summits statement you are totally right it did sound like a lady bicthing out her husband. So unprofessional. Get some class summit.
ive been wondering the same thing. a little note from important people like stephenie, david and others could have gone a long way to help smooth the waters.
DUH!
Billy just tweeted this:
“I have NO idea what went down with the Rachelle thing. None whatsoever. Bit confused myself. I gotta go bowling now. More later…”
Alright, it doesn’t say much, but he’s only one who’s said the slightest thing about it all (other than Charlie Bewley who said “love you RLxx”), but I think it says a lot on what he thinks that he commented..
Can’t wait to see what he says later. Fuck, I really want other cast members (and anyone involved in the Twilight world, SM, even Catherine Hardwicke, whatever!) to speak up! Although I know the odds of that are slim to none…
And a lot of us has said it, what sucks is that Summit’ll still be making money, as we’ll still be seeing the movies. Damnit!
GAG ORDER!! no one of huge important will speak on this at least for a few days if not until filming begins.
yes, but we can see the movie once, in theaters instead of oh 15 times, like I did for Twilight.
She’s the one with the wicked curve ball & one of the actors who really impressed me both in Twilight & outside it. So I signed on to a petition, called Summit & will write a few e-mails. Do I think it will do any good? Probably not, but not doing anything is no answer when it’s about someone being shabbily treated.
The vilest part of the whole sorry affair is that they sent Rachelle to pimp for them at ComicCon, which she obviously did in good faith. Six days later they shafted her royally: she seemed not to have known beforehand that she was being fired.
There’s nothing left to say except to wish this lovely young woman godspeed in her future endeavors.
hey! Who wants to go see band slam with me!!!!!???? Yeah F- ing right…. Good luck on that one summit! Manipulating fans into seeing a movie I can’t even stand to watch the trailer for. I literally want to rip my eyes out and induce deafness upon myself when I put my twilight DVD in and I don’t get the remote ready fast enough and end up hearing “let’s start shredding! Holla!”
” I literally want to rip my eyes out and induce deafness upon myself when I put my twilight DVD in and I don’t get the remote ready fast enough and end up hearing “let’s start shredding! Holla!”
So damn true…I don’t care where I am or what I’m doing at the time I will break my neck to find the remote to fast foward that crap.
I know, it’s an insult that the damn trailer for that dumb movie was put on the Twilight dvd!
Thank you. Very well said. I will miss Rachelle. 😦
Well said Ladies! Not that it will make a difference, but…I think you should send that on over to Summit’s offices. It’s so ironic that Summit’s tantrum is directed at one of the most gracious actors involved with the franchise. Rachelle’s always been such a class act.
Yes, send this post, along with all of the comments.
i don’t know why summit dare to make a big mistake when they already on the top..
how stupid can they be? i watch all the movie from this company and still don’t care much about how the film or who is the director for the film..
but when it come from my favourite books.. now that bcome a huge thing for me.. i care about everything.. but then they make a BIG mistake by replacing the biggest role(VICTORIA potrayed by Rachelle) for the third twilight movie :ECLIPSE!.. no wonder summit never on top before because they could’nt even hold their own movie cast.. to make all the fan WHO PAY FOR THE MOVIE happy!! im now impressed more to warner bros who can keep their important movie cast till end of the franchise.. they more think WHAT A FAN WANT!! rather than what they want.. THAT’S THE DIFFERENT BETWEEN PROFESSIONAL COMPANY AND AMATURE COMPANY..
I totally agree with you!!! 🙂
This sounds like a job for SUPER-ROB!! Summit’s not going anywhere without him on board – – he should totally throw his weight around.
And Rachelle is one of the best at promotion/being personable and interviewing well. Can you imagine if you only had KStew doing your movie promotion? Yikes.
I agree with the Rob comment. You know sooner or later he will be asked questions about this and I’m dying to hear what he will have to say (like I don’t already hang on his every word).
Thanks for taking a stand on this issue as a lot of other Twi-related sites have completely copped out. Shame on Summit!
I am really really disappointed in this turn of events and hope that Rachelle will go on to bigger and better things.
[…] – Here’s an open letter to Summit Entertainment from fans who are feeling a bit miffed at the casting change. They want to know why, what prompted the change. Or more why, since Summit has already issued a public statement on the matter. (Letters to Twilight) […]
summit is just money hungry..they saved money by not havin’ rachelle in the movie because they didnt have to promise her a pay raise. Summit i think will be really disappointed in themselves when they see how financially this will hurt them..I am going to see NEW MOON to support RACHELLE but for ECLIPSE hell no! I am very disappointed and ashamed. I even e-mailed them about it and i have never done someone to that nature just over casting..but i think this was the LAST STRAW with the fans. Summit loves replacing ppl first they thought about replacing TAYLOR LAUNTER now they replaced RACHELLE atleast w/ TAYLOR we got to tell them what we think and they made an eduacated decision…this is total BULLSHIT and the responce summit put out to RACHELLE’S was just excuses n CRAP they just wanted a bigger name in the movie but i dont think they fathom how badly this would hurt their pocket…AFTER NEW MOON IM DONE W/ SUMMIT AND THEIR BS![
[…] – Here’s an open letter to Summit Entertainment from fans who are feeling a bit miffed at the casting change. They want to know why, what prompted the change. Or more why, since Summit has already issued a public statement on the matter. (Letters to Twilight) […]
Just lost my precious post –
Thanx for the blog – M &UC
Really I think there is always a solution to every problem. Summit’s decision it very disappointing , more so the way they have handled it.
They have demonstrated that the actors at this stage are vulnerable and their positions can be recasted at the snap of a finger, they have misused their power ( there is nothing that pisses me off than the misuse of power! NOTHING!)
They have squashed Rchael like a little annoying fly between their thumbs.
If the cast were united and sure loved each other ( as we choose to believe they do), then summits action is demoralizing even to them at this stage.
Hypothetically this will affect their performance in Eclipse – lack of motivation = poor performance.
So why watch a film made by demoralised actors ? ( it’s a waist of money basically)
Why not let summit make their film and shove it right up their (now) fat asses?
The fandome can wait for the DVD release ( and they sure will release it quickly to recoup their cash)
We can wait, can’t we?
We can watch Remember Me and Runaways while awaiting Eclipse DVD – those two should keep fans busy. This way we can be proud that summit fucks with fans – Fans fuck back and lets see who ‘cums’ first – we too can play Dom/sub, can’t we? CAN’T WE?
I did just consider one tiny weeny little positive about this whole sucky mess. At least when Edward rips Victoria’s damn head off – I can cheer guilt free!! Because I LOVE Rachelle (and her hair!), but this other actress I had never actually heard of (seriously – I probably need to get out more!) can kiss my Pattinson pants free ass!!
Oh…and in regards to team switzerland websites – they are SO rude and pretentious…they really need to get over themselves!
thats the same thing i was thinking when edward rips her heard of i would cheer BUT THATS IF IM EVEN GUNNA C THE MOVIE…
I must say that I’m very disappointed of many Twilight websites. I wished they had taken a side, even if it was Summit’s side. I would respect that,
But what they are saying with this whole “Team Switzerland” BS is that they don’t agree with Summit (because they don’t support it) but they don’t have the guts to say it. Why? Because some people there have got invitations and “exclusives” from Summit and want to keep it that way. It makes sense from their point of view but for me as a fan and as a visitor to those sites, it sucks (no pun intended ;)) That’s why I’m not going there anymore.
I don’t know if Moon and UC realize what a turning point this incident has become. This is when we have seen the fansites true colors and they have proven to be strong, independent women 😀 They are da bomb!! 😀 LOL WELL DONE GIRLS!!!!
Hugs to all the LTT-ers (but not to Summit)
ANDREA