Iran Response to Argo: Disgruntled Filmmakers to Make New Hostage Crisis Movie
Iran is planning a response to Argo, the film awarded the Best Picture prize at Sunday's Academy Awards 2013 show.
The film, starring Hollywood actor Ben Affleck, has been widely praised and now goes down in film history as a Best Picture Oscar winner. However, Iran is said to be far from happy at the events portrayed in the film, and they now are planning to try and tell the world their side of the story.
Argo is of course an American Fiction thriller film starring and also directed by Ben Affleck. The dramatization 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 U.S. diplomats from Tehran, Iran, during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis.
The film stars Affleck as Mendez with Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, and John Goodman, and was released in North America on Oct. 12, 2012.
The film was produced by Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, and George Clooney.
Argo received seven nominations for the 85th Academy Awards and won three, for Best Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture, the first time since 1989's Driving Miss Daisy where the Best Picture winner was not nominated for Best Director.
Despite the buzz surrounding the film, Iranian filmmakers now look to tell a different side of the story of the 1979 hostage crisis.
Iranian media and officials have been said to be outraged by Argo, complaining that it portrays them falsely and offers numerous historical inaccuracies and distortions.
They have also complained that Iranians are depicted in the movie as "irrational" and "overemotional," where as the Americans and CIA agents are simply portrayed as "heroes."
The Iranian film will have a minute budget compared to the Hollywood version, and according to some online movie buffs, is unlikely to grace the Oscars next year.
