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Variety is reporting that Sean Penn and Robert Pattinson are in talks to star in Francis Lawrence's (I Am Legend) upcoming adaptation Water for Elephants, with Reese Witherspoon already attached to star.  Richard LaGravenese (P.S. I Love You) will write the script based off Sara Gruen's best-selling history book of the same name.  Here's how Variety describes the plot:

Set during the Great Depression, Gruen's book tells the story of a Cornell Unviersity veterinary student who leaves his studies after his parents are killed, and joins up with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, working as a vet for the circus.

Wow.  The guy literally ran away to join the circus.  I thought that was only a threat made by little kids when they were mad at their parents.  But back to the news, Penn recently signed back on to co-star in the Farrelly Brothers' The Three Stooges while Pattinson is set to co-star with Christina Ricci in Bel Ami.