Campaigning for a movie in awards season is a path laced with pitfalls. Littler movies can oft be ignored, but mainstream blockbusters are frequently treated with a steely scorn and are practically prohibited from scoring the coveted high-prestige nominations. However, with a remarkable ensemble of actors who offer riveting performances and a well-plotted and tensely paced narrative, Ben Affleck's crowdpleasing docudrama Argo was an early contender for the Academy Awards' Best Picture category. But now with upcoming December stunners like Zero Dark Thirty, The Hobbit and Les Miserables, grabbing headlines, Argo is falling out of focus.
Warner Bros. isn't letting their heavy-hitting contender go down without a fight, and are reminding us what a truly fantastic film Argo is with a behind-the-scenes featurette that details the spectacular story, as well as the craftsmenship that went into the production and its performances. Check it out below:
Based on the recently declassified case files, Argo unfolds the stranger than fiction tale of how an American CIA operative masqueraded as a Hollywood producer to rescue six Americans in hostile territory during the 1980 Iranian Hostage Crisis. Affleck directs a sprawling yet solid cast that includes such luminaries as Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber, and Kyle Chandler. He also stars as CIA agent Tony Mendez, who risked his own life to save the aforementioned Americans, who were working at the American embassy when it was attacked by locals in 1979. While most of the building's workers were taken hostage, these six made their way to a Canadian diplomat's home, where they went into hiding, desperate for American intervention.
The film has won almost universal praise from critics, and has already earned more than $157 million at the box office. Basically, the film has done its part. Now it's up to Warner Bros. and Affleck to keep Argo in the award season conversation.
