Ben Affleck directing, starring in '79 Iranian hostage rescue flick

[The Bread Guy]

It'll be interesting to see how close the movie is to the real story.  I know, I know, I can dream, can't I?

A showcase moment in the history of Canadian diplomacy - the topsecret spiriting of six Americans out of Tehran during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis - appears destined for blockbuster treatment in Hollywood.

At least three years in development, the spy thriller Argo will focus on how CIA agent Tony Mendez - played by Ben Affleck, who also directs - plotted with Canada's ambassador to Iran, Ken Taylor, to rescue the trapped Americans by having them pose as Canadian location scouts for a fake movie supposedly being shot in Iran. Another Hollywood A-lister, George Clooney, is producing and acting in the film.

Like the Affleck-helmed film that started shooting last week in Los Angeles - and which will also be shot in Washington and Istanbul - the title of the bogus movie in the CIA-hatched scheme 32 years ago was Argo.

Clooney was said to be pegged for the Mendez role when news first emerged in 2008 that the hostage rescue saga - popularly known as the 'Canadian Caper' - was bound for the big screen.

But Affleck, who shot to acting and screenwriting fame in 1997 with the hit film Good Will Hunting, enjoyed dual-role success last year when he directed and starred in the crime drama The Town. He's signed on to juggle the same jobs in Argo ....

Postmedia News, 7 Sept 11

IMDB listing for Argo here.

For (at least some of) the real story, the International Spy Museum spoke to former CIA agent Tony Mendez about the plan (as well as a couple of the hostages), and shared the interview on two good podcasts here and here.

 

[medicineman]

There was a good made for CTV flick done about that in the early 80's...but of course no high priced help in it.

Let's hope they don't cock it up.

MM

 

[dapaterson]

There was a good made for CTV flick done about that in the early 80's...but of course no high priced help in it.

Let's hope they don't **** it up.

MM

Hey, it starred Gordon Pinsent.  GORDON PINSENT!  And was filmed in Tehranto.  How could they ever top that?

 

[The Bread Guy]

There was a good made for CTV flick done about that in the early 80's...but of course no high priced help in it.

Hey, it starred Gordon Pinsent.  GORDON PINSENT!  And was filmed in Tehranto.  How could they ever top that?

IMDB:  "Escape from Iran: The Canadian Caper" (1981)

 

[The Bread Guy]

The latest from Iran's media ....

Is Argo “just a movie?” Or is it a disguised intelligence operation - maybe even a war crime?

These questions may soon be answered in court. Well-known French lawyer Isabelle Coutant-Peyre has met with Iranian officials planning a lawsuit against the makers and distributors of the controversial film.

Mohammad Lesani, General Secretary of Monday's Hoax of Hollywood conference in Tehran, announced, "Argo is made by three film-producing companies in Hollywood...the Islamic Republic of Iran is going to sue all those who have been active in the anti-Iran domain, including directors and producers.”

If the makers of Argo are deposed under oath, they may be forced to reveal that their film -- like the fictitious film-within-the-film -- is a covert operation disguised as a movie. One of America's leading experts on covert operations believes that Argo is the propaganda project of an intelligence agency or agencies, and that its purpose is to convince the American people to go along with Israel's plan to drag America into a war on Iran.

That expert, Barbara Honegger, was a Special Assistant to the President as well as White House Policy Analyst (1981-83), and worked for over a decade as Senior Military Affairs Journalist with the Naval Postgraduate School, the premiere science, technology and national security affairs graduate research university of the US Department of Defense. The author of October Surprise, she is one of America's leading experts on ultra-secretive covert operations or “black ops.” ....

 

[Old Sweat]

I googled Barbara Honegger and found she is a prominent 9/11 "truther" and general conspiracy theory proponent, who has claimed for years that the Reagan campaign sabotaged Jimmy Carter's re-election bid by making a deal with Iran to delay the release of the hostages until after the election. The hostages were released after Reagan took the oath of office, which has provided fodder for theories for three decades.

No surprise she is cited in the story.

 

[JorgSlice]

"Argo" is garbage.

Affleck made the Americans out to be the ultimate heroes in the whole ordeal.
Damn glory hogs, don't they know their history?

I'm glad none of my money went to to pay the cheques of everyone involved in it.

 

[Sigs Pig]

"Argo" is garbage.

Affleck made the Americans out to be the ultimate heroes in the whole ordeal.
Damn glory hogs, don't they know their history?

I'm glad none of my money went to to pay the cheques of everyone involved in it.

You are talking about Argo, right? So then if you paid money to watch Argo, you paid into their cheques. Don't kid yourself.

ME

 

[JorgSlice]

I didn't pay.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

I only ever thought Affleck was a bit of a sub standard actor, who made his career riding his co star's coattails.

I refuse to watch Argo or anything by, or with him in it.

A simple search of his accomplishements will show he's nothing but a leech that feeds on the careers of those around him.

He is a talentless hack.

 

[Journeyman]

He is a talentless hack.

Maybe so, but I love Dogma; it's one of my favourite documentaries.  :nod:



It is a documentary, right? 

 

[BeyondTheNow]

"Argo" is garbage.

Affleck made the Americans out to be the ultimate heroes in the whole ordeal.
Damn glory hogs, don't they know their history?

I'm glad none of my money went to to pay the cheques of everyone involved in it.

But it's all okay because they thanked Canada during awards acceptance speeches.  :

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

I liked the film and took it for what it was.  A film loosley based on real events.

 

[BeyondTheNow]

I liked the film and took it for what it was.  A film loosley based on real events.

Parts of it were enjoyable, absolutely. And I'm generally a huge fan of Affleck. But it was toted more as truth than entertainment. And I think many take offense to the continued pattern of the American film industry taking more than just a few liberties in changing factual, historical events to glorify their own involvement.  The changes weren't subtle (which can be overlooked for entertainment value sometimes), they were quite substantial.

 

[CougarKing]

Wasn't there a part in the movie where one of the MPSS members at the Canadian Embassy in Tehran was ordered to destroy some equipment?  Or was he supposed to be a clerk/assistant to the Canadian military attaché?  ???

 

[medicineman]

I didn't see Argo, but the CTV made for TV movie in the 80's did have the Canadian MP Sgt destroying all their crypto stuff as they were getting out of Dodge...

MM

 

[Danjanou]

I didn't see Argo, but the CTV made for TV movie in the 80's did have the Canadian MP Sgt destroying all their crypto stuff as they were getting out of Dodge...

MM

http://international.gc.ca/history-histoire/people-gens/ken_taylor.aspx?lang=eng&view=d

In mid-November, Taylor ordered his military head of security, Sergeant Claude Gauthier, to begin shredding Embassy documents. At least three times, the overworked shredder blew out the electrical fuses before the job was finished late in the month.

The rest of the Embassy staff left later that day. As a final precaution, Sgt. Gauthier smashed the cypher equipment, earning himself the nickname "Sledge" in the process. The last message from Ottawa ended "See you later, exfiltrator." 

Sgt. Gauthier and two fellow military policemen received the Order of Military Merit.