Ben Affleck’s Argo is widely regarded as one of the best films of 2012. That’s what picking up the Best Picture Academy Award does for a movie. But how much did it actually get right? The CIA has decided to answer that question for us.
Ben Affleck’s political thriller - which revolves around Tony Mendez’s rescue of six U.S. diplomats who had become stuck in Iran during the 1979-1981 hostage crisis - is a tense, relentless and thought-provoking re-creation, but along the way the film took some dramatic license to tell its tale. Now, the Central Intelligence Agency has taken to Twitter to reveal exactly what Ben Affleck’s film and Chris Terrio’s screenplay got wrong. They did this by prefixing each tweet with either "Reel" or "Real." What to know what they got right and wrong? Well have a look below.
Yep, that’s right. Argo got one of the most pivotal moments in the film wrong. The hostages actually darted across a number of different places in Tehran before they all eventually ended up at the home of the Canadian Ambassador & the Deputy Chief of Mission. But you can understand why Affleck decided to shorten this down as it would have been rather tedious to see the hostages moving from house to house.
This is another doozy. Ben Affleck’s Tony Mendez is made out to be the galloping hero of the film who charges into Tehran on his lonesome to save the hostages. In reality, though there was another man who helped Mendez in his efforts. Unfortunately for that individual, who the CIA didn’t reveal the identity of, he will now forever be the Robin to Mendez’s Batman.
Yet another understandable alteration. Ben Affleck and Chris Terrio created more drama and tension in the final act by teasing that the entire mission might be aborted hours before it was due to take place. It worked. Even though it was a complete fabrication. The rambunctious swines! You can check out the CIA’s Twitter feed for a full rundown of the film. It makes for an intriguing read. Let’s hope that this turns into a global tradition. I’m looking forward to a member of Al Qaeda revealing just what Zero Dark Thirty got right about Osama Bin Laden’s death.
