New Circus Movie Rumbles into SoCal Town; Shooting Soon to Begin

The film adaptation of Sara Gruen's novel Water for Elephants is set to begin filming in the towns of Fillmore and Santa Paula, located in Ventura County in Southern California.

Evidently, Sean Penn, earlier rumored to be up for a leading role, is out. In is famed Hal Holrook, to play "old" Jacob, who narrates the story from a nursing home, sharing memories of his circus days.

Stars include Reese Witherspoon, Cristoph Waltz and Robert Pattinson. Richard LaGravenese scripted. Francis Lawrence is directing.

Filming expected to wrap in around 30 days.

Spotted behind a rented fence staking out the set were "more than 10 red, yellow and orange boxy circus wagons." About a dozen old-fashioned railroad cars were also discovered on tracks near the lot.

I await this film with tempered expectations. Seems that circus movies have a hard time avoiding cliche melodramatic plots assumed to please mainstream audiences. At the center of the tale is a "cruel animal trainer," to be essayed by Waltz, who landed an Oscar this year for Inglourious Basterds.

Yet to appear are those award-winning circus fans from PETA.