BEN AFFLECK'S MASTERPIECE: Here's What You Missed In 'Argo'
The Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was overthrown during a revolution in February 1979.
President Carter allowed the Shah into the U.S. in October to be treated for cancer at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center.
(Source: "Argo" Blu-Ray DVD extra / The New York Times)
Angered with the U.S., Islamist students and militants protested outside the American Embassy.
November 4, they broke in ...
... stormed the embassy ...
... and seized 52 Americans hostage.
Six were able to escape from the embassy out a back door ...
... and were housed by Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor.
It would be only a matter of time until Iranian militants discovered they were missing from a manifest of the American embassy ...
... or they would be found by militants patrolling the streets.
The White House wanted the six home, but the CIA was out of ideas.
Ben Affleck's character, CIA exfiltration specialist Tony Mendez, suggested they make a sci-fi film, similar to "Star Wars" ...
... and scout for the film in Iran.
The six would act as Canadian filmmakers—writers, directors, camera men, and producers for the film.
Mendez enlisted make-up artist John Chambers who previously made disguises for the CIA ...
and fictional producer Lester Siegel to make the fake movie look legitimate in Hollywood and abroad.
Together, they used a script called "Argo" and formed a fake production company called Studio 6.
They fooled all of Hollywood into believing it was real, buying ads in trade publications The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.
They even had actors fitted for roles complete with crazy costumes.
With everything taken care of at home, Mendez was given three days to "scout" and get the six out of Tehran.
In Iran, Mendez meets the six and gets them to memorize their new Canadian identities inside and out ...
... because one little slipup could cost them their lives.
The seven made it to the Mehrabad Airport in Tehran ...
... where tensions were high ...
And, the group barely got through security.
As the group boarded their plane, militants figured out the six weren't Canadian filmmakers ...
Police and militants got within inches on the take off strip ...
... but the seven were already off the ground ...
... and on their way to Zurich.
Their mission was a success.
For his efforts, Mendez was awarded the Intelligence Star.
The other 52 hostages were released after 444 days following negotians in which the U.S. agreed among other things to refrain from intervening in Iran's internal affairs. Below, President Carter poses with one of the hostages two days after his release at the U.S. Air Force hospital in Wiesbaden, Germany.
Affleck's film earned him the Best Picture Oscar this year.
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