The Film
Argo is a 2012 historical drama thriller film directed by Ben Affleck. This dramatisation is adapted from the book "The Master of Disguise" by CIA operative Tony Mendez, and Joshuah Berman's 2007 Wired article "The Great Escape" about the "Canadian Caper", in which Mendez led the rescue of six US diplomats from Tehran during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis.
The film stars Affleck as Mendez with Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, and John Goodman in supporting roles. It was released in North America to critical and commercial success on 12 October 2012. The film was produced by Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, and George Clooney.
Upon release, Argo received widespread acclaim. It also received seven nominations for the 85th Academy Awards and won three, for Best Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture. It also won Best Film, Best Editing, and Best Director at the 66th British Academy Film Awards.
Argo also earned five Golden Globe nominations, winning Best Picture – Drama and Best Director, while being nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Arkin. It won the award for the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 19th Screen Actors Guild Awards, with Alan Arkin being nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role.
Cinema Trailer
Production Argo is based on the "Canadian Caper" that took place during the Iran hostage crisis in 1979 and 1980. Chris Terrio wrote the screenplay based on Joshuah Bearman's 2007 article in Wired: "How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran". The article was written after the records were declassified. In 2007, the producers George Clooney, Grant Heslov and David Klawans set up a project based on the article. Affleck's participation was announced in February 2011. The following June, Alan Arkin was the first person cast in the film. After the rest of the roles were cast, filming began in Los Angeles in August 2011. Additional filming took place in McLean, Virginia; Washington, D.C. and Istanbul. As a historical piece, the film made use of archival news footage from ABC, CBS and NBC, and included popular songs from the era such as "Little T&A" by The Rolling Stones, "Sultans of Swing" by Dire Straits, "Dance the Night Away" by Van Halen and "When the Levee Breaks" by Led Zeppelin. For its part, Warner Bros. used its 1972–1984 title featuring the "Big W" logo designed by Saul Bass for Warner Communications to open the film and painted on its studio lot's famed water tower the logo of The Burbank Studios, the facility's name during the 1970s and 1980s when Warner shared it with Columbia Pictures. The
real life screenplay that the CIA used to create their cover story
came from an adaptation of Roger Zelazny's 1967 novel "Lord
of Light". Producer Barry Gellar had spearheaded an earlier,
sincere attempt to produce the movie with the book's original title.
After that production attempt had failed, it was utilized by the
CIA, and the title was changed to Argo. |
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Cast • Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez • Bryan Cranston as Jack O'Donnell • Alan Arkin as Lester Siegel • John Goodman as John Chambers • Tate Donovan as Robert Anders • Clea DuVall as Cora Lijek • Christopher Denham as Mark Lijek • Scoot McNairy as Joe Stafford • Kerry Bishé as Kathy Stafford • Rory Cochrane as Lee Schatz • Victor Garber as Ken Taylor • Kyle Chandler as Hamilton Jordan (White House Chief of Staff)
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