{babes} 'Twilight' bosses defend Lefevre axe

LOS ANGELES -- When there's fresh blood, it probably means someone's been wounded.

So it is with the Twilight franchise, which replaced Montreal's Rachelle Lefevre with Bryce Dallas Howard just as cameras were about to roll on the sequel, Eclipse.

The abrupt move left Lefevre "stunned." The actress, who had played vengeful vampire Victoria in Twilight and New Moon, had signed to work on a film adaptation of Barney's Version, but insisted she didn't believe it would be a conflict.

"I was fully committed to the Twilight saga and to the portrayal of Victoria," she said in a statement following her dismissal.

Now a year later, with The Twilight Saga: Eclipse in theatres, the filmmakers again defend their decision.

"It all happened really quickly," says producer Wyck Godfrey. "Rachelle became unavailable ... and we had to react very quickly. Bryce was somebody that early, early on, even from Twilight, had been on the list and was unavailable. We were up against it, frankly, and had to pick quickly, and were really fortunate that we sent Bryce the script immediately and then she decided she wanted to do it."

Adds director David Slade, "One of the slight misconceptions about these films is that they're these giant, huge-budget blockbusters. These films are made more like independent films, so our schedule -- not just for money but also actor availability -- is so tight. We shot this entire film in about 50 days. Most action movies are shot in double or triple that. We had a schedule that basically was put together like a jigsaw puzzle one way, so we had no other choice."

For self-described "Twi-hard" Howard, the decision to sign on was automatic.

"I had not only read the books, but one of my friends made this little pack of Post-It notes for me with Rob (Pattinson's) face that said, 'Live dangerously.' All of my friends were like, 'Why are you so obsessed?' I was like, 'It's so dangerous. Their love is so dangerous.' It was very fast and it was very sudden. To be honest, I was intimidated going into it for a variety of reasons, but I felt so lucky to get to meet this group of people. It's a group of people that have genuine friendships and are so deeply committed to doing justice to these stories."

And while she's a natural redhead, she nevertheless donned a wig to match the character's curls. "Actually, quite ironically, I flew out on a Monday or a Tuesday to go do the role. That Friday before, I had dyed my hair really dark ... I showed up and they were like, 'This is not the girl we hired.' Shooting had to start pretty quickly, so I wore a wig, which I was really happy about because it was really important to have continuity."

In Eclipse, Victoria creates an army of newborn vampires in her quest to kill Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart). The threat forces romantic rivals Edward (Pattinson), an undead immortal, and werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner) to call a truce and protect her together. The story culminates in a bloody battle to the death between Edward and Victoria.

"There was a lot of fight training that happened to prepare for it," Howard says. "I certainly didn't want to punch Robert Pattinson in the face ... Actors are always nervous about not only hurting each other, but maybe hitting each other's face and ending one's career. So there was a lot of preparation that made us feel more comfortable, certainly. I just knew that, if I rustled his hair, millions of young women would want to kill me, so I was quite cautious for that reason. It was fun.

"There's a point at which you're wrestling with one another for six consecutive hours that it just becomes absurd.

"You just can't help yourself, but laugh."