The Gloves Come off...

Rachelle's Response:

"I was stunned by Summit 's decision to recast the role of Victoria for Eclipse, Lefevre said in a statement to RadarOnline.com “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's 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," the letter begins.

" Her decision to discuss her version of the scheduling challenges publicly has forced the Studio to set the record straight and correct the facts."

And, oh yes, there are bullet points:

• 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.

From the Lexicon:

We have been asked by people how to contact Summit Entertainment. Their address is a matter of public record:

Summit Entertainment
1630 Stewart Street, Suite 120
Santa Monica, CA 90404

It’s our personal opinion that actual mail vs. email makes more of an impact. It’s easy to discard email with a simple click whereas it’s difficult to ignore the presence of physical mail, especially in volumes.

Internet petitions, while well intentioned, don’t work because it’s too easy to fake signatures, and for that reason management teams tend to not take them seriously.

We are currently tracking down a contact address for Rachelle that is for fans. Until we get it, you can reach her at her Twitter.

Here is Rachelle’s fanmail address(via Twilight Series Theories). Again though Tweeting is nice, you are limited to 140 characters. An actual card or letter we believe would have more of an impact.

Rachelle Lefevre
Pearl Hanan Management
7775 Sunset Blvd.Suite 118
Los Angeles, CA 90046

Summit and Pattinson make a great showing at Cannes

Screen Daily reports that Summit and Pattinson are making out like bandits at Cannes:

As Cannes 2009 approached its final days a clear picture emerged of the haves and have-nots, as streamlined teams of buyers focused in on broadly commercial fare with theatrical potential.

Summit International did a roaring trade on its Twilight sequel New Moon and the new Robert Pattinson title Remember Me, while Focus Features International virtually sold out on the upcoming Kevin Macdonald Roman Britain epic The Eagle Of The Ninth.

Thanks, RobPattzNews!

Comi-Con is Coming!

This sent to me from Summit- don't get left in the dust!

On Thursday, July 23, Summit Entertainment will hold a panel for THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON at Comi-Con International in San Diego, California. Come see our stars and exclusive new footage for THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON -- there may be even be a surprise or two in store!

Tickets to Comic-con are selling out fast, so we recommend you get your Thursday tickets soon so you can have access to our panel. Unfortunately, the 4-day passes are already sold out, but the Thursday single-day passes are available, albeit in a limited quantity.

Tickets can be purchased on the official Comic-Con website.

Official New Moon Movie Info Debuts Tomorrow Morning!!

Just heard from Summit that the *official* movie one-sheet will be in my hot little hands by 7am Eastern tomorrow morning... let's hope for something juicy!

What we have so far:

Can't go anywhere but up, right??

Summit: Official Word on Cast Members

From Summit:

New cast members include the legendary Volturi, a venerable coven of vampires who weigh and impose the laws of the vampire world, as well as two new members of the Quileute Indian Nation.

The Volturi include:

Charlie Bewley as Demetri
Jamie Campbell Bower as Caius
Daniel Cudmore as Felix
Christopher Heyerdahl as Marcus, all Volturi enforcers.
Dakota Fanning plays Jane, a high ranking and powerful Volturi member
Cameron Bright is Alec, her brother
Noot Seer plays Volturi member Heidi
Michael Sheen plays Aro, the Volturi leader

Tinsel Korey is Emily, the fiancé of Sam Uley.
Graham Greene appears as Harry Clearwater, Quileute tribal leader and old friend of Bella's father Charlie.

Graham Greene: Harry Clearwater

Cameron Bright: Alec, Jane's brother

Charlie Bewley (on left): Demetri


Daniel Cudmore: Felix
(Dayuhm-he's 6'8", was Colossus in the X-Men movie!)


Christopher Heyerdahl: Marcus



About filming:
Principal photography has begun on Summit Entertainment's THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON, it was announced today by Erik Feig, Summit's President of Production. Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner reprise their roles as Bella Swan, Edward Cullen and Jacob Black. Academy Award-nominee Chris Weitz (THE GOLDEN COMPASS, ABOUT A BOY) is the director. NEW MOON is filming on locations in Vancouver, BC and Tuscany, Italy.

About the actors:
Graham Greene earned an Academy Award nomination for his work in "Dances With Wolves," and has appeared in such films as "The Green Mile," "Die Hard: With A Vengeance" and "Transamerica."

Chrisopher Heyerdahl has appeared in such films as "The Chronicles of Riddick," "Catwoman" and "Blade: Trinity."

Tinsel Korey has worked on numerous films and television shows, from "Into The West" to "The Lookout," opposite Joseph Gordon-Levitt. She is also a singer/songwriter.

Noot Seer began modeling at age 13 and has lived in New York, Barbados, Guyana and New Zealand. She was a champion horseback rider prior to her modeling career. She made her film debut in the comedy "Head Over Heels," starring Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Monica Potter.

Michael Sheen last starred opposite Frank Langella in Ron Howard's film "Frost/Nixon," and played Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair to Helen Mirren's Queen Elizabeth in "The Queen." The award-winning actor was recently seen in "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans."

Jamie Campbell Bower was last seen in Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd" and is the lead singer of the band The Darling Buds.

Daniel Cudmore played Colossus in the "X-Men" films, "X2" and "X-Men: The Last Stand."

Dakota Fanning was last seen in Summit Entertainment's sci-fi thriller "Push" and provided the lead voice in the animated feature "Coraline."

Thanks, CBA, for the tip!

Sorry this post is so sketchy; I wanted to get out the info stat! More deets to come; stay tuned!!

Summit Courting Pattinson?

The Hollywood Reporter says that Summit and Robert Pattinson are in early talks over a new project called "Memoirs."

"Memoirs," based on an orignal screenplay by Will Fetters that will be rewritten by Jenny Lumet, who penned "Rachel Getting Married," tells of two lovers whose newfound relationship is threatened as they struggle to deal with family tragedies. And we all know what a fantastic job Pattinson did as a starcrossed *potential* lover.

Allen Coulter -- who directed "Hollywoodland," which dealt with the death of George Reeves, and has been nominated for six Emmys for his work on HBO's "The Sopranos" and FX's "Damages" -- is in negotiations on the project.

Playing a star-crossed lover won't be a stretch for Pattinson... swoon...

OFFICIAL Word- Wolf Pack *sans* Emily On Board for New Moon

From Summit Entertainment:

Summit Entertainment announced today that Native American/First Nation actors Chaske Spencer, Bronson Pelletier, Alex Meraz, Kiowa Gordon and Tyson Houseman have signed on to star as the members of the wolf pack in THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON. In the film, the wolf pack defends humans against vampires although they have a tribal history intricately entwined with Edward Cullen and his family.

Each member of the wolf pack is of Native decent. Spencer is Lakota (Sioux), Pelletier is Cree-Metis, Meraz is Purepecha (Tarasco), Gordon is Hualapai, and Houseman, who was discovered at an open casting call, is Cree. Casting of the wolf pack was overseen by award-winning casting director Rene Haynes who is well-known for her work on Native projects ranging from DANCES WITH WOLVES to BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE.

Jacob Black- Leader of the Pack

Montepuliciano Replaces Volterra as Italian Location in New Moon

Twilight Italiana reports that Summit will NOT be filming in Volterra, but has chosen Montepulciano instead:

At lunch in Los Angeles with one of the producers of Summit Entertainment, responsible for, and now Twilight, New Moon, the continuation of the saga is from the books of Stephenie Meyer, the bomb explodes: Despite ads, previews and generous offers of all sorts by Mayor and City, the sequel vampiresco not running in Volterra in the places of the novel, but in Montepulciano, where the troupe has found location "to be the most beautiful film."


Thanks to CBA for the tip!

Summit Clarifies Eclipse Director Rumors

Access Hollywood talked to Summit to clarify the rumors swirling around the potential Eclipse Director. Nikki Finke and Variety are adamant that Bayona is the shoe-in, while the L.A. Times says that Summit is still in the interview process.

From Access Hollywood, who actually TALKED to Summit:

Summit Entertainment is still considering directors for “Eclipse,” the third film in the “Twilight” saga, the studio told Access Hollywood on Friday.

The studio told Access on Friday that several filmmakers were still being looked at for the job.

The Fangs Are Beginning to Show

I just posted this retraction apologizing for misquoting information about Bayona being chosen to direct "Eclipse." Seems things are getting a bit sticky. I don't retract my retraction, but read on:

The L.A. Times. Sounds about as reputable as you can get, right? After the reporter slammed Hollywood "in the know" reporter Nikki Finke, she responded with this:

Summit Entertainment's president of worldwide production and acquisitions Erik Feig is accusing Los Angeles Times blogger Patrick Goldstein of misquoting him today about the accuracy of my reporting. And the movie executive has apologized to me.

Feig told me he plans to confont the LA Times columnist who has slammed me three times this week alone (and each time mischaracterized what I'd written and refused to correct it). I'm still waiting for Goldstein to publish my response today that I stand by my story, which I worded very specifically to say: "I can confirm that Summit Entertainment is telling Hollywood privately that Juan Antonio Bayona will direct Eclipse."

That said, I'll still be checking my sources, but until we hear official words on ANYTHING, keep in mind that everything on this and all blogs, sites, papers, mags, media is pure speculation.

Attention Folks- A RETRACTION is in order...

Apparently Nikki's information was completely incorrect after all... the L.A. Times reports that:

"Summit Entertainment has not -- I repeat NOT-- hired "Orphanage" director Juan Antonio Bayona to direct "Eclipse," the third film in the wildly successful “Twilight” series. That would be the exact opposite of the "news" you read earlier today, first in Nikki Finke’s post on Deadline Hollywood and later in Dave McNary's seemingly authoritative Variety story, which baldly stated that Summit "has tapped Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona to direct 'Eclipse.'

Feig was shocked to see the media reports saying Summit had hired Bayona, since -- ahem -- they’re not true. "The 'Eclipse' directing job hasn’t been offered to Juan Antonio or anyone else," he said. "We’ve met with three or four talented filmmakers and we’ll be meeting with three or four more other candidates before we make any decision. No one has been offered the job."

Feig added that no one even bothered to call to check out the rumors before printing them, something that has become an all-too-often occurrence in the Wild West free-for-all that constitutes today’s Web-based entertainment coverage. "Nikki never called Summit or any of the producers, and Variety ran it off her blog without calling us either, which I find doubly irresponsible." (In fairness, McNary did call Summit’s PR rep, who would not confirm the story.)

My apologies. With rumors running like wildfire over the net and through the blogs, it's easy to get caught up in the sensationalism. I know better, and I'll check my sources more thoroughly in the future.

Journey through Volterra in the comfort of home

Twilight Italia will immerse you into the journey Alice and Bella take to Volterra in New Moon. Book enthusiasts will love this!

Videos of the true Volterra

"He took a large stride toward the light..."

A timeline of Alice and Bella's journey to Volterra

Also, locations haven't been solidified, so a petition is ongoing requesting Volterra be used as the actual filming site:

If you believe, like we do, that Summit Entertainment has to film in Volterra, and not rebuild it in another place, just say so by signing the online petition (click here). Let your voice be heard: tell Summit Entertainment you want to see the real Volterra in New Moon!



Thanks NMM for the tip!

Bayona sounds a shoe-in for Eclipse director chair

Forget the rumor mills of gossip columns. Reliable Hollywood source Nikki Finke reports: "I can confirm that Summit Entertainment is telling Hollywood privately that Juan Antonio Bayona will direct Eclipse. It's a very out-of-the-box choice for the 3rd movie in the "Twilight Saga" series of Stephenie Meyer vampire novels being hurried to the big screen by the start-up studio. (I guess it doesn't matter that other sources tell me Bayona hasn't yet met Stephenie, huh?)"

Juan Antonio Bayona, director of 'The Orphanage,' and a scene from the film (below). Yikes!

Thanks to CBA for the tip!