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Since we’re all already bored with the Obama Presidency, now would be a great time for filmmakers to get the ball rolling to make films that revisit some of the milder guffaws of the Bush administration. And, yes, it’s really odd for an administrative outing of a CIA operative to the press as “one of the milder mistakes.” Obviously, we miss that goofy guy, so thankfully Sean Penn is taking time out from polishing his Oscar to negotiate a role in the forthcoming Fair Game.

The flick, based off of Valerie Plame Wilson’s own memoirs, will tell the story of steps leading up to and the circumstances behind her outing. No word yet on whether it will delve deeply into the pending civil suit that Plame has against Dick Cheney.

And there are some big names lined up behind this thing. Naomi Watts plays Plame. Doug Liman is attached to direct. William Pohlad and his River Road will be financially backing. Akiva Goldsman, Jerry Zucker, and Janet Zucker are producing. Jez and John Butterworth (of Superbad) are writing.

According to Variety, River Road picked up the project after Warners Bros. put it in turnaround – meaning if it blows up, this is a perfect chance for Warners to sue someone else for copyright infringement. And the cycle continues. Fantastic.

This is an incredibly compelling story that was in the news cycle for several months. A Vice-President who leaks the name of a covert operative because her husband – the role that would be taken by Penn – wrote several scathing editorials about how the administration lied about Iraq vis a vis Weapons Of Mass Destruction. I’m actually pretty stoked about it as a project, especially with the personnel that’s already attached. They don’t necessarily need Penn, but he’s obviously a strong choice. Mostly the film will rest squarely on Naomi Watts, so it could be interesting to see Penn in more of a supporting role.

What do you think? Too soon?