Variety Reporter . Meeting with President Carter. One of three scenarios: 1. I enjoyed how it handled the ineptitude of the CIA. First, in an attempt to set the stage for his audience, Affleck begins the film with a two-minute rough sketch of Iranian history. Maria. We other three remained with the Sheardowns. In the email, he said the dispute doesn't reflect on Affleck's skills as a director and wished him luck on Sunday. Another gut check. There's nothing more a Canadian can say after the president says it. But this film knew what it was about, and had a good handle on the complexity of the situation. The Canadian ambassador, Ken Taylor, hid them in his home until they were smuggled out of the country 79 days after the takeover of the embassy by Iranian militants. The voiceover from Jimmy Carter at the end. On the other hand, actress Sheila Vand, who plays an Iranian housekeeper in the film, told CBS Radio News that her role in "Argo" helps chip away at stereotypes for Middle Eastern characters. Any time is a tricky time to make a film about the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, but at this particular moment, the stakes are as high as ever. The show went up in LAs warehouse district, and enjoyed an encore appearance last Halloween. Irans economy has been hit by the most crippling international sanctions in history, up to the point where its not just luxury goods but bread that has become unaffordable for many Iranians. Taylor said it was Sheardown who took the first call from the American diplomats who had evaded capture when Iranian militants seized the U.S. Embassy in November 1979, and agreed right away to take the Americans in. When Tony Mendez arrived on Jan. 26, 1980, we were ready to leave. We never made it there, because a demonstration blocked the way. Nothing illustrated this better than Sahar, the housekeeper for the Canadian ambassador, who was the only Iranian we got to know at all. Taylor said there would be no movie without the Canadians. One countrys freedom fighter is anothers terrorist. Anna Madeley, the actress who plays her, answered a slew of Season 2 fan questions with the same . There are also other examples of U.S. sponsored regime change that did not lead to lasting hostility, e.g., Chile in 1973. "I admire Ken very much for his role in rescuing the six houseguests. What has happened to rate of alcohol-related fatal traffic crashes among drivers ages 16-20 over the laste 20 years? Powered by Reelgood. The Argo exfiltration operation went off very smoothly. The hostage crisis was no closer to resolution. As the climax approaches, a suspicious revolutionary intelligence officer drives up to the ambassadors house and questions Sahar through the gate, very politely. The 66 other diplomats were subsequently held hostage for 444 days, while these lucky six made it to the residence of the Canadian ambassador to Iran, Ken Taylor, where they secretly lived for 79 days before they were effectively rescued with the help of the CIA, using the most unlikely cover story of being in Iran to scout out the location for a Canadian film project. Each day we stayed in Iran added to the risk of capture. The ability to arrange the move in Thai gave us some confidence that our plans were private. The story of Ben Affleck's "Argo" concerns the real-life rescue of six fugitive American embassy employees from Ayatollah "Salman Rushdie Fatwa" Khomeini's Iran in 1980. She said, I feel lucky that Ive never been asked to play a terrorist. Moral-Ethical Emphasis, Assignments and Projects Now, as six escapees find themselves trapped in the home of the Canadian ambassador, Ken Taylor, the ex-filtration expert, Tony Mendez, comes up with an impossible plan, proposing that they all pose as members of a Canadian film crew scouting for shooting locations for "Argo", their latest science-fiction movie. But those two seemed like throwaways, and Tony did not try too hard to sell us on them. Join an investigation into a cruel and heartless leader crawl through filth and mud to escape biological warfare team up with time-traveling soldiers faced with potentially life-altering instructions. A Twisted Psychological Thriller. The Argo II was destroyed when Zeus launched them to Camp Half-Blood . But we needed to sever all links to the former American community, and we did not tell him where we were going. Part of the learning curve is getting over the fear of putting stuff out there. I still expected this to be a bit of a propaganda film, full of crazy evil terrorists and noble Americas. At first, she doesnt know who they are or that they are in hiding, but she eventually begins to wonder why they never leave the house, puts two and two together, and figures out just how deeply in trouble they are. By Rich Schapiro. I went to see Ben Afflecks new film Argo as soon as it hit the theaters last week. There was no room for us in that scenario. Second, it was backstopped: The phone number on my fake business card would be answered, and we had a script, storyboards, and other paraphernalia. She called that aspect of her role particularly meaningfulinterspersed with archival footage and illustrations, these moments detail a rising enmity between the US and Iran. The Canadians played a major role in the rescue, issuing six fake passports for the diplomats (this required a secret act of the Canadian Parliament), creating Canadian identities for the American diplomats, and smuggling into Iran via diplomatic pouch materials to make the escape possible, such as the false passports, other false identification, disguise kits provided by the CIA, and movie paraphernalia to support the Argo cover story. I agreed to do it and I look forward to seeing Ken at the recording.". Photo by Claire Folger/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Sixty. But the 78-year-old Taylor added that given what's happened in the last few months, "I'm not necessarily anticipating anything.". "What I said is still valid. They were angry and upset even though this was the guy who somehow against all odds managed to get everyone home safely (Iran-Contra was done under Reagans watch, not Carters). For Vand, who had never traveled to the Middle East, shootingArgoturned out to be a sort of homecoming. silently to avoid the deaths of those involved. In the end, it wasnt a dramatic rescue, but the no-less-incredible maneuvers of international diplomacy that led to my release, as well as that of my companions. Taylor's wife, Pat, told The Associated. I changed a line at the end because the caption at the end was disgraceful. That convinces the intelligence officer the group of six are not the escaped American diplomats and he goes away satisfied. This is the story of the rescue of six American diplomats who escaped when Iranian militants seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979 and took the embassy staff hostage. In 2010, Vand helped createSneaky Nietzche, an interactive steampunk-themed musical performance featuring a 40-person ensemble and a full band. If it were suddenly occupied, the komiteh would definitely notice. Please enter valid email address to continue. Likely, they did not. Jodi Bishop knows success. Portrayed by. Ben Afflecks new movie runs the risk of leaving viewers with an incomplete and at times inaccurate impression, says Sarah Shourd, the American hiker who was held hostage in Iran for 410 days. It made me wonder if anything we do makes any sense at all, or if were just all caught in this endless cycle of reactionary craziness, acts of heroism like the storming of the embassy (certainly viewed as heroic by some in Iran, cause hey, these people supported a guy who killed and tortured your family) and the rescue of the hostages both reactionary, both nuts. Taylor said it was Sheardown who took the first call from the American diplomats who had evaded capture when Iranian militants seized the U.S. Embassy in November 1979, and agreed right away to. If Iran had supported the overthrowing of our democratically elected leader, wed be pretty pissed off at them, too. Taylor became a hero in Canada and the United States afterward. Quote from the interviews and cite action or dialogue in the film to support your opinions. Research Internet information focused on the role played by the Canadian government in sheltering the American diplomats and the fact that in the film, the CIA took most of the credit for the operation. Lesson plans based on movies & film clips! This might pose a problem for the Iranians, who presumably would have wanted to claim that they had interrogated all of the hostages before letting them go. Did they go out thinking, Man, America should stop doing stupid things so it doesnt have to create crazy mad movie plots to rescue people? after. (If students are assigned to report on the accuracy of the film, have them read, before they see the movie, Joshua Bermans WIRED article entitled How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans From Tehran or Mr. Mendez book, Argo How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History.) Another alternative is to have all students read Bermans article and give students Assignment #1, below. For starters, "Argo" is centered around real events and people. This is the side of Iran that Americans need to see, particularly in a film depicting a CIA intervention in Iran. How had I missed this story in all my reading about Iran? Taylor kept the Americans hidden at his residence and the home of his deputy, John Sheardown, in Tehran and facilitated their escape by arranging plane tickets and persuading the Ottawa government to issue fake passports. Etc. Besides, a traditional thriller cant be overpopulated with all the people who play sometimes small but essential roles in a situation like ours. How did you use the result to determine who walked fastest and slowest? Still, the foreign diplomats of Oman and other countries, as well as the ordinary Iranians who stood up and took risks for Shane, Josh, and me, didnt do it because they love America, they did it because they followed their own humanityjust like the young maid depicted in Argoand decided to stand up for what they knew was right. Presenting centuries of Iranian history in two minutes is of course an impossible task, and the result is grossly oversimplified and ultimately falls short of providing the viewer with much-needed context for the events about to unfold. (The filmmakers took some liberties with the facts, Mr . I loved every bit of the Hollywood scenes, of the make-believe, of the sheer audacity of the plan. By: Natalie Barelli. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Conchata Ferrell, the award-winning theater actress who became a television star as the gruff housekeeper of a toxic Malibu bachelor on the sitcom " Two and a Half Men . At the end of the film, while the six Americans are popping champagne bottles on the airplane on their way home, their Iranian maid is seen fleeing the country into Iraq. John called the Brits. But Sahar does not get to Canada. I told my captors the same thing many, many times. Taylor was having drinks with Johns wife Zena. Required fields are marked *. Likely, most folks went home gleefully saying, Argo fuck yourself! and feeling good-hearted about all the heroic missions Americas accomplished that we dont know about. Ken Taylor, the Canadian ambassador to Iran who concealed a group of Americans at his home during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis, died Thursday. Ben Affleck's film Argo tells the bizarre story of how in 1980 the CIA - with Canadian help - sprang a group of Americans from Iran after they escaped a US embassy overrun by protestors. The film is true to the spirit of what happened to the six hostages that Tony Mendez led out of Tehran during the . There is no one correct answer. However, Mendez was just doing his job. What happened to Gloria Satterfield? As for finding more studio film and television roles, Vand said she didnt want to guess whatArgomight bring. Teachers can introduce the film and place the escape of the six American diplomats in context by providing direct instruction covering the following topics. His house was raided four days after we left. John and his wife, who sheltered four of the six Americans, are not represented in the movie. The story itself, even if it is only loosely based on history (as Affleck took pains to point out), is fantastic and timely. Bob called John. That would make sense, right? Affleck also brought a certain sadness and melancholy to this role that Ive never seen him display. Study now. And I wont lie, that stuff was gleeful for me too. The discussion should also include a mention of the failure of the film to fully acknowledge the role of Ambassador Taylor and the Canadian government in protecting and freeing the hostages. What are the two applications of bifilar suspension? We had asked Taylor in early January to tell Washington we wanted out. Historical fiction is still fiction and uses the techniques of fiction. Because while all of the hostages are eventually brought home, and yay rah-rah America, theres Sahar still out there, displaced, walking into a war that will be perpetuated by the very people she chose to shelter. 2. "I saw the movie Argo recently and I was taken aback by its distortion of what happened because almost everything that was heroic, or courageous or innovative was done by Canada and not the United States," Carter said. There's nothing much right from Day 1 I could do about the movie. Friends of Taylor were outraged last September when "Argo" debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival. I have a vivid memory of a relative of mine telling me nonchalantly that they were among the crews that carted weapons over to both Iraq and Iran during the war. Argo is a 2012 American historical drama thriller film directed, produced by and starring Ben Affleck.The screenplay, written by Chris Terrio, was adapted from the 1999 memoir The Master of Disguise by U.S. Central Intelligence Agency operative Tony Mendez, and the 2007 Wired article "The Great Escape: How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran" by Joshuah Bearman. This house was on a corner and hugged the sidewalk on two sides. When Hollywood failed to come calling, she sidestepped the problem by continuing to pursue the experimental theater shed embraced in college. Wiki User. First, and most importantly, we bought the idea that Hollywood people would be so presumptuous as to think they could walk into the middle of a revolution and shoot a movie. Even so, we knew that both the foreign ministry and our embassy had records of houses leased by U.S. employees. It was manned by Leo Valdez, Piper McLean, Jason Grace, Frank Zhang, Hazel Levesque, Percy Jackson, and Annabeth Chase. Ive talked before about how the Iran/Iraq war was some of the inspiration for the conflict in Gods War, and it was that story of my relatives nonchalant gunrunning that made me realize that wars could be perpetuated almost indefiniately by outsiders, and that this was actually a very common occurence. Maid Marian is a fictitious character from the folklore of Robin Our living arrangements were comfortable. But SF film to smuggle out hostages! Certainly, the U.S. experience with Iran since the Second World War is an example of one risk, i.e., that the country is turned into an implacable foe and that thereafter, the intervening country has little ability to influence its actions. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Theyre capable of so much more., Of her role in that crucial nail-biting scene, Vand says, She [Sahar] has a moment of decision, and, for me, its really important that this scene exists. current relations between the Iranian government and the West, including the Iranian nuclear weapons program and Western sanctions. He was 81. Mendez deserves praise as well, and earned all the awards he received from the CIA. The author, Mark Lijek, stands second from right. But give Argo its due. Who makes the plaid blue coat Jesse stone wears in Sea Change? He's shown here in 2012 in Washington, D.C., at the premiere of Argo, a film . They will never know she saved them. She graduated from UCLA with a degree in theater and directing in 2007. Have students prepare and deliver, individually or in groups, five-minute class presentations on relevant topics. He suggested we move to another house nearby, whose occupant he also worked for. But this new house that Sam suggested was a guarantee of capture. 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