Argo (2012)

Argo is a 2012 thriller film directed by Ben Affleck based loosely on a true story. The film is based on Tony Mendez's account of the rescue of six U.S. diplomats - with help from Canada - from Tehran, Iran during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. The film stars Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin and John Goodman, and was released in North America on October 12, 2012. The film was co-produced by George Clooney & Grant Heslov, who both collaborated on the critically acclaimed Good Night, and Good Luck.

Synopsis: In 1979, during the Iranian Revolution, Islamic militants take over the U.S. embassy in Tehran and hold 52 Americans hostage. Six other Americans escaped and hid in the Canadian ambassador's home. The Central Intelligence Agency and its specialist Tony Mendez (Affleck) put together a plan to help the six Americans escape Iran. The six Americans are given cover identities as location scouts for a Canadian film production titled Argo, and Tony has limited time to train them to convincingly play their parts so they can escape Tehran.

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 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. In 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, California, in August of 2011. Additional filming also took place in McLean, VA,Washington, D.C., and Istanbul.