What It Takes For Sean Penn To Be Joe Wilson

For those of you following the spate of Washington thrillers that are either in theaters or in the works, we have an update on one of them: "Fair Game," starring Sean Penn.

This year's Oscar-winning Best Actor, not surprisingly, is going the extra mile to get into character. Penn plays former ambassador Joe Wilson, husband of Valerie Plame Wilson, whose book about how the Bush White House blew her identity as a CIA operative is the basis for the movie.

Sources tell the Sleuth Penn has spent considerable time at the Wilsons' home in Santa Fe so the actor can study Wilson, his personality, his mannerisms and inflection. Wilson has spent time on the set of the film and Penn and Wilson have dined together at the end of the day.

Penn is so determined to perfectly capture his character that he has even been wearing Wilson's cufflinks, according to one well-placed source.

Knowing Wilson, if he has anything to do with it -- and he surely will -- the Washington premier of "Fair Game" will be a red-carpet scene to rival all others. (You won't be seeing Ann Coulter there, unless she changes her mind.)

And for those who don't miss having Wilson around, he doesn't miss you, either. In town last week to present the whistle blower Ridenhour Awards, Wilson was overheard saying he likes coming back to Washington -- when he knows he's "leaving by sunset." (By his side, he had his small suitcase on wheels.)