business
the Making of Argo With the recent attacks on American government compounds, a film about American diplomats trapped in revolutionary Iran seems more relevant than ever. “How often do you get to make a movie on this subject matter, particularly in a world where some of the war films that had been made had been a little too depressing for audiences over the last 10 years?” Affleck said. Speaking recently at the San Sebastian film festival in Spain, Affleck remarked that his goal when making the film was to stick to the facts. “First of all, you’d never believe this story if it weren’t true,” he said. “But my goal was for it to be factual. I have friends that are Democrats and friends that are Republicans. I have friends that are Americans and those that live abroad. I wanted everyone to see it and be able to take something from it because it was based on facts.”
In Argo Affleck starred with and directed critically aclaimed performances of fellow actors Bryan Cranston and John Goodman.
Image courtesy of Corbis / ArabianEye.com
below the radar. Then I felt kind of ready to act and direct with The Town, and it was a refocusing. I have a very, very different life than I used to have and I much prefer the life that I have now. I do things that I am much more interested in now, and I think I am a little bit more mature and I don’t chase the idea of what my life should be, and I try to think about what I would like my life to be, and then think about ways that I can get there. And yes, I definitely made some movies that didn’t work. That’s for sure. And I wish I hadn’t, but I certainly wouldn’t give that back if it meant that I didn’t get to end up where I did now. How do you spend your time when you are not working? I used to have all these hobbies and stuff, and those all went away when I had kids. When I am not working, I am home and as you say, I am watching Princess movies or I am playing games or doing that stuff. I don’t have time to try and learn the guitar as I was before, there are a couple of guitars in my house that are just gathering dust. They haven’t been touched since my first child was born. So mostly I am running around with the family, because I also do some traveling. I also work with the Eastern Congo issue in Africa and I make way for that as part of my life and I give that some bandwidth, so really, there’s nothing else left but for my family, which is wonderful.
The screenplay for the movie is based on the 2007 Wired magazine article “Escape From Tehran: How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans From Iran.” With its mix of political drama and Hollywood satire, critics are saying the film is a shoe in for a best picture Oscar. Affleck says in directing the film one of his greatest challenges was developing smooth transitions from the tense Iran scenes to the more humorous moments, which have gained buzz for Alan Arkin playing the role of veteran Hollywood producer.