Most of the circus animals, stars and trainers live in California. We also needed nice open places to set up the circus.”Īnother very good reason to use the trains in Fillmore and Piru was cost. “We needed a private train line so that we could kind of ‘own’ the tracks,” Lawrence explained, “without having to move off the tracks every hour for other trains. How the Fillmore & Western Railway Trains Were Chosenĭirector Francis Lawrence said that the Fillmore/Piru train set was a better choice as a filming location than trains in other regions, including the Northeast where the story is supposed to take place.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY SHOTS IN A CIRCUS MOVIE
Since the trains used in the movie were located in Southern California, filmmakers had to use CGI (computer-generated imagery) to transform arid mountains into lush green hills with the appropriate skyline in the background. train travels through the northeastern of the United States. In Water for Elephants, the Benzini Bros. The production set up circus camps in two locations, one west of Fillmore and the other close to Piru. The trains used in the film belong to the Fillmore & Western Railway Co., located in historic downtown Fillmore.
The production spent approximately 50 days shooting along the 30 miles of railroad track between Santa Paula and Piru. The Filmore Western Railway Trains in Ventura CountyĪbout two-thirds of the filming of Water for Elephants took place in Ventura County, near the towns of Fillmore and Piru. Soon enough, they realize that staying together is their only hope for survival.ġ. Jacob, Marlena and Rosie become a team bonded by love and trust. They together in turn meet Rosie, a beautiful Asian elephant, who becomes the only hope of the circus for a sold-out show. There he meets Marlena (Witherspoon), the beautiful equestrian star who’s also married to August (Waltz), the charismatic but violent-tempered circus master. The central character is a young man named Jacob Jankowski (Pattinson) who - by fate - hops onto a train that is home to the “Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth.” A veterinary student from ivy league Cornell, Jacob is charged of taking care of the circus menagerie. The story of Water For Elephants takes place during the early part of the Great Depression.
Everything about the film is beautiful, from the breathtaking cinematography to the film’s “biggest” and most memorable star Tai, who played Rosie, the elephant.ĭirected by Francis Lawrence ( I Am Legend), the movie has an impressive cast, Oscar winner Christopher Waltz ( Inglourious Basterds), Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon ( Walk The Line), Hal Holbrook ( The Event, ER, The Sopranos), and international heart-throb Robert Pattinson ( Twilight, Eclipse, New Moon).
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY SHOTS IN A CIRCUS SERIES
This is Part 1 of a two-part series on the filming locations of Water For Elephants.įilmed in Tennessee (Chattanooga), Georgia (Chickamauga), and California (Los Angeles, Fillmore and Piru), Water For Elephants is a magical treat for the eyes.