Argo

Movie poster created by the CIA as part of the cover story

Argo is an upcoming political drama film about the rescue of six U.S. diplomats from Tehran, Iran during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. Filming began in September 2011, and it is scheduled to be released in 2012.^[1]

Premise

During the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, the governments of the United States and Canada partnered to rescue six U.S. foreign service members who had evaded the hostage-taking at the takeover of the American embassy in Iran. The governments were able to convince Iran that the six hostages were members of a film crew who were scouting the area for a movie titled Argo. The hostages were able to escape the country under their fake identities.^[2]

Cast

• Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez
• Bryan Cranston as Jack O'Donnell
• Alan Arkin as Lester Siegel
• John Goodman as John Chambers
• Kyle Chandler as Hamilton Jordan
• Victor Garber as Ken Taylor
• Tate Donovan as Bob Anders
• Clea DuVall as Cora Lijek
• Michael Parks as Jack Kirby
• Tom Lenk as Rodd
• Christopher Stanley as Tom Ahern
• Taylor Schilling as Christine Mendez
• Ashley Wood as Beauty
• Chris Messina as Malinov
• Richard Kind as Max Klein
• Titus Welliver as Jon Bates
• Rory Cochrane as Lee Schatz
• Devansh Mehta as Matt Sanders
• Omid Abtahi as Reza
• Kerry Bishe as Kathy Stafford
• Bob Gunton
• Philip Baker Hall

Production

Argo is based on the Canadian Caper that took place during the Iran hostage crisis in 1979 and 1980. The film is directed by Ben Affleck. Chris Terrio wrote the screenplay based on the 2007 Wired article "How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran" by Joshuah Bearman. Producers George Clooney, Grant Heslov and David Klawans set up a project based on the article in the same year, and Affleck's attachment to the project was announced in February 2011.^[3] In the following June, Alan Arkin was the first person cast in the film.^[2] After the rest of the roles were cast, filming began in Los Angeles, California in September 2011. Additional filming took place in Istanbul, and the production wrapped in Washington, on location at CIA headquaters on November 19 and the State Department on November 20.^[1]

Marketing

The first trailer for Argo was released on May 8, 2012^[4] and was met with mostly positive feedback. GeekScholars Movie News gave the preview an average score of "B" on an A+ to F- scale, noting that the trailer introduces audiences to a "riveting story not many have heard before", but also commented that the tone of the preview felt inconsistent, wavering between serious and lighthearted.^[5]

References

External links

• Official website
• Argo at the Internet Movie Database
• How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran at Wired