Doug Liman is working on a film version of ex CIA agent Valerie Plame's memoirs, Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House. The film is to mainly focus on Valerie Plame, who has already been cast, but Liman knows who he wants to play her husband Joe Wilson.

He wants Russell Crowe to play Wilson, who's article on Iraq and weapons of mass destruction ended up causing a political scandal.

Joe Wilson wrote an editorial published in the New York Times, based on his time working in Africa. In it he called into question the US Governments intelligence, that Iraq had tried to buy uranium yellowcake from Niger. He essentially said that the US had exaggerated Iraq's threat, in order to justify the miltary invasion in 2003. The editorial was published three weeks after the invasion began. A week later another paper exposed his wife as a covert CIA agent, from a leak believed to be close to Dick Cheney at the time.

With law suits still ongoing there's no shortage of material. And Doug Liman who is directing the film of Plame's memoirs has already got Nicole Kidman on board as Valerie Plame. With her husband obviously also playing a part in the story, Liman wants Russell Crowe to play him:

I’d love Russell Crowe, If you’ve met Joe, he’s a really strong guy. I’ve never met an actor stronger than Russell Crowe. I met with [Russell] for ‘Bourne Identity’ and I was terrified. The whole time I was in the room with him I was just scared of him. This is a scary dude! And Joe is kind of like that.

Liman was talking to MTV Movie News. I haven't read the memoirs but it sounds fairly explosive stuff. And it hasn't taken long for the memoirs to become a film, with the book only released late last year. I'd be interested in watching it, what about you? Are Crowe and Kidman a good pairing?