First look at Apparition's "Fair Game"

It hasn't been a good week for Bill Pohlad, whose Apparition movie distribution operation was blindsided by the resignation of its chief operating officer, promotion and advertising wizard Bob Berney immediately before the opening of the Cannes Film Festival. (So far there is nothing but speculation about why this departure was timed to create maximum embarrassment and inconvenience; it's a real jilt-your-prom-date move.)

There may be a ray of sun amid the gloom, however. Pohlad's movie-producing arm, River Road Productions, will be unspooling one of the most anticipated films on the Cannes roster. That would be "Fair Game," Doug Liman's drama about the Bush administration scandal surrounding CIA operative Valerie Plame (played by Naomi Watts) and her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson (Sean Penn.)

There's an extended clip of an accusatory face-off between Wilson and Plame as they try to hide their rancor from their children, romping in a playground nearby. And it looks pretty compelling for a dialog scene. Add in international intrigue and spook-vs.-spook backstabbing and this could be a very intriguing picture.