Water for Elephants is an upcoming drama film based on Sara Gruen's novel of the same name, directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Robert Pattinson as Jacob Jankowski, Reese Witherspoon as Marlena and Christoph Waltz as August. As a young man, Jacob Jankowski (Pattinson) was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth.