NEW CIRCUS MOVIE BEING FILMED IN FILLMORE, CALIFORNIA

Details scarce on movie filming in Fillmore
By Karen Lindell Posted May 17, 2010
from the Ventura County Star
Ladies-s-s-s-s-s-s and gentlemen-n-n-n-n-n-n-n! Twen-n-n-n-nty-five minutes till the big show!” barks Cecil, a circus sideshow talker in the novel “Water for Elephants.
Well, the exact start time isn’t clear, but the circus — or at least the circus train — is coming to Fillmore this week.
The county of Ventura confirmed that a production company has taken out a film permit for Thursday to start shooting a movie in Fillmore. That project is likely a Fox 2000 film based on “Water for Elephants,” Sara Gruen’s best-selling Depression-era novel about a traveling circus.
No big tops have been reported in Fillmore or environs, but on Sunday, circus trains and wagons painted with the words “Benzini Bros. Most Spectacular Show on Earth,” the circus in Gruen’s book, were spotted in the city’s downtown.
People in Ventura County responsible for permits and other film shooting issues did not provide detailed information on the film, which is expected to star some well-known actors.
The lead roles are played by Oscar winners Reese Witherspoon and Cristoph Waltz, “Twilight” heartthrob Robert Pattinson, and Emmy and Tony winner Hal Holbrook.
Pattinson plays “young” Jacob Jankowski, a 23-year-old Ivy League veterinary student who, after his parents are killed just before he’s about to graduate, ends up working with animals at a circus.
Holbrook is “old” Jacob, the story’s narrator, when he is “ninety. Or ninety three,” living not so happily in a nursing home, where he reminisces about his circus days.
Witherspoon plays Marlena Rosenbluth, a circus performer who does an equestrian act. Waltz, who won as Oscar this year for “Inglourious Basterds,” plays her husband, cruel animal trainer August Rosenbluth.
The film’s screenplay is by Richard LaGravenese, with Francis Lawrence directing.