Excellent news! Sara Gruen‘s Water For Elephants , which shortly after publication was picked up by Fox 2000 for development as a major motion picture, has taken another major step toward reaching the big screen. Richard LaGravenese, who also adapted The Horse Whisperer and Beloved, has delivered the screenplay, and Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) will direct, reportedly with filming in both Hollywood and on location in Tennessee slated to start in June of this year.

But the real excitement centers on the all-star cast Fox is assembling. Academy Award winner (Walk the Line) Reese Witherspoon has already signed on to play the role of Marlena, the beautiful, horse-loving circus performer. Then it was reported last week that Sean Penn, another Academy Award winner (Milk), will co-star as Marlena’s obsessively jealous husband, August. But the news that has everybody buzzing is that the protagonist, Jacob Jankowski, is going to be played by none other than the Twilight series heartthrob Edward Cullen…errr…Robert Pattinson–who will presumably get some sort of spray tan and fang-ecotmy.

So here’s a big Huzzah! to Sara Gruen, Rosie the elephant, and our newest cinematic obsession!