Replaced Twilight star 'stunned'

Lefevre (r) said she was "saddened" by the move to have Howard replace her

Actress Rachelle Lefevre has said she was "stunned" and "hurt deeply" by the decision to recast her role in the third Twilight film, Eclipse.

Earlier this week its producers, Summit Entertainment, said the role of evil vampire Victoria would be played by Bryce Dallas Howard in the movie.

In a statement Summit said Lefevre, 30, had "scheduling conflicts" that would make her unable to participate.

Lefevre, however, claims Summit "chose simply to recast the part".

"I was happy with my contract with Summit and was fully prepared to continue to honour it," the Canadian actress continued.

Her remarks have prompted a second statement from the Twilight producers, who said they were "disappointed" by her comments.

Dispute

The dispute between Lefevre and Summit centres on Barney's Version, a Dustin Hoffman film which the actress is due to appear in later this year.

Never did I fathom I would lose the role over a 10 day overlap Rachelle Lefevre

In her statement, Lefevre said her commitment to the film would only last 10 days and that she had been "fully committed to the Twilight saga".

"Given the length of filming for Eclipse, never did I fathom I would lose the role over a 10-day overlap," she said.

Summit, however, claims her involvement in Barney's Version had made her unavailable during the "required" rehearsal time and "at least 10 days" of principal photography.

It also alleges that Lefevre did not inform the studio about her commitments to the film "until the last possible moment".

Lefevre (right) plays Victoria in both Twilight and its sequel, New Moon

"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.

"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."

The original Twilight, starring Kristen Stewart and Britain's Robert Pattinson, was a box office hit when it was released last year.

Its sequel, New Moon, is set for release in November and will be followed by Eclipse next June.

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