argo movie production notes

ARGO (2012) PRODUCTION NOTES

© 2012 Warner Bros. Entertainment 1

ARGO

Production Notes

Release Date: October 12, 2012 Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures Director: Ben Affleck Screenwriter: Chris Terrio Starring: Ben Affleck, Alan Arkin, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Kerry Bishe, Kyle Chandler, Rory Cochrane, Christopher Denham, Tate Donovan, Clea DuVall, Victor Garber, Zeljko Ivanek, Richard Kind, Scoot McNairy, Chris Messina, Michael Parks, Taylor Schilling Genre: Drama, Thriller MPAA Rating: R (for language and some violent images) Official Website: Argothemovie.com STUDIO SYNOPSIS: Based on true events, "Argo" chronicles the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis--the truth of which was unknown by the public for decades. On November 4, 1979, as the Iranian revolution reaches its boiling point, militants storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage. But, in the midst of the chaos, six Americans manage to slip away and find refuge in the home of the Canadian ambassador. Knowing it is only a matter of time before the six are found out and likely killed, a CIA "exfiltration" specialist named Tony Mendez (Affleck) comes up with a risky plan to get them safely out of the country. A plan so incredible, it could only happen in the movies.

http://www.argothemovie.com/



Synopsis

Based on real events, the dramatic thriller "Argo" chronicles the life-or-death covert operation to

rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis, focusing on the

little-known role that the CIA and Hollywood played—information that was not declassified until

many years after the event.

Academy Award® winner Ben Affleck ("The Town," "Good Will Hunting") directs and stars in the

film, which is produced by Oscar® nominee Grant Heslov ("Good Night, and Good Luck."), Af-

fleck, and Oscar® winner George Clooney ("Syriana").

On November 4, 1979, as the Iranian revolution reaches its boiling point, militants storm the U.S.

Embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage. But, in the midst of the chaos, six Americans

manage to slip away and find refuge in the home of Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor. Knowing it

is only a matter of time before the six are found out and likely killed, the Canadian and American

governments ask the CIA to intervene. The CIA turns to their top "exfiltration" specialist, Tony

Mendez, to come up with a plan to get the six Americans safely out of the country. A plan so in-

credible, it could only happen in the movies.

"Argo" also stars Bryan Cranston (TV's "Breaking Bad"), Oscar® winner Alan Arkin ("Little Miss

Sunshine"), and John Goodman ("Trouble With the Curve"). The main cast also includes Victor

Garber, Tate Donovan, Clea DuVall, Scoot McNairy, Rory Cochrane, Christopher Denham, Kerry

Bishé, Kyle Chandler and Chris Messina.

Affleck directed the film from a screenplay by Chris Terrio, based on a selection from The Master

of Disguise by Antonio J. Mendez and the Wired Magazine article "The Great Escape," by Joshuah

Bearman.

David Klawans, Nina Wolarsky, Chris Brigham, Chay Carter, Graham King and Tim Headington

are the executive producers, with Amy Herman co-producing.

The behind-the-scenes creative team includes Oscar®-nominated director of photography Rodrigo

Prieto ("Brokeback Mountain"), production designer Sharon Seymour ("The Town"); Oscar®-

nominated editor William Goldenberg ("Seabiscuit," "The Insider"); and Oscar®-nominated cos-

tume designer Jacqueline West ("The Social Network," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button").

The music is composed by four-time Oscar® nominee Alexandre Desplat ("The King's Speech,"

"The Queen").

Filming on "Argo" was accomplished in Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and Istanbul.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with GK Films, a Smokehouse Pictures production,

"Argo." The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Enter-

tainment Company.

This film has been rated R for language and some violent images. www.argothemovie.com

http://www.argothemovie.com/



About the Production

O'DONNELL

The six went out a back exit...

The Canadians took them in.

They've been there ever since.

In 1980, Studio Six Productions trumpeted a new film project that had the elements of a hit sci-fi

movie: spaceships, aliens, action and adventure, all happening on an arid, distant planet. Billed as a

"cosmic conflagration," the epic feature was never greenlit by any studio chief.

It could only be given a green light by the country's Commander in Chief.

More than 30 years later, Ben Affleck directed, produced and stars in "Argo," a film based on the

true story of the covert mission to rescue six Americans trapped in Iran, following the 1979 takeo-

ver of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran that shocked the world.

The group had narrowly avoided being taken hostage by Iranian revolutionaries and were given

sanctuary at the home of Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor, who risked everything to help the

Americans, even when others turned them away. But the "houseguests"—as they came to be

known—were in constant jeopardy of being found out and captured...or worse. With time running

out, the CIA's top exfiltration expert, Antonio "Tony" Mendez, devised a brilliant but outrageous

escape plan.

Affleck explains, "Tony was friends with a famous makeup artist named John Chambers and knew

it was a viable prospect for movie people to be traveling around, checking out different locations.

He came up with an idea no one else would ever have thought of."

The plan was for the six to pose as a Canadian filmmaking team on a location scout and then simply

fly out...although it was anything but simple. Tony Mendez emphasizes, "This was a game with no

rules, so it was extremely risky. The most dangerous thing about it was the capriciousness of the

people we were trying to get around. We had no way of predicting what would happen if we got

caught—to us or to those already held hostage."

Joshuah Bearman, who, in 2007, chronicled the escape in a Wired Magazine article, relates, "The

embassy seizure was a seismic event on the world stage. No one knew quite how to respond to the

hostage situation in the embassy compound. The problem of the hidden houseguests was even trick-

ier because diplomacy wasn't an option. And with each day, the likelihood that they would be dis-

covered grew. Eventually, Tony Mendez, who had 'exfiltrated' sensitive people from Iran and else-

where before, stepped in with this plan."

There was also a very real threat to those harboring the Americans. Ambassador Ken Taylor con-

firms, "During those three months, the staff at the Canadian Embassy was dealing with the danger-

ous reality of the situation. We had all been offended by the violent breach of diplomatic protocol,

but apart from that, these were our friends. The U.S. and Canada have always had a special relation-

ship that transcends any boundaries. I have been given a lot of the credit, but an equal amount be-

longs to my wife, Pat, and my embassy staff, as well as my colleagues in Canada."

Holding an emergency session, the Canadian Parliament made a rare exception to their own laws to

provide the six Americans with fake Canadian passports, under the "film crew's" individual aliases.



They arrived by diplomatic pouch to Ambassador Taylor, who rendezvoused with Mendez to deliv-

er them. Applying his expert counterfeiting skills, Mendez imprinted them with the correct Iranian

visas and entered dates to indicate that the six had arrived in the country only the day before.

"To me," says Affleck, "one of the most important themes of the movie is remembering when the

United States stood up as a nation to say 'Thank you, Canada.' None of this would have happened

without them, so America will always have a debt of gratitude to our friends to the north."

In today's instant information age, it seems inconceivable that the entire operation remained top se-

cret until it was declassified by President Clinton in 1997. Surprisingly, even after Tony Mendez

recounted the events in his 2000 book, Master of Disguise, and, later, Bearman detailed them in

Wired, most people remain largely unaware of a story that even Affleck admits "sounds utterly ab-

surd. I understand that, because it seems completely unbelievable, but the fact that it happened is

what makes it even more fascinating."

"This operation was a little-known success story in an otherwise difficult chapter in history," says

Bearman. "People knew at the time that six Americans escaped with the help of the Canadians a

few months into the crisis, but until the operation was declassified years later, no one realized that

the CIA had actually led the Americans to safety with such a daring mission and wild cover story."

Bearman's piece first came to the attention of producers Grant Heslov and George Clooney. Heslov

offers, "I remember the hostage crisis well, but I was unaware of this story, so I found it astonishing

and also very cool. I knew immediately there was a film there and that it was one I wanted to make,

and George felt the same way."

Screenwriter Chris Terrio was entrusted with turning this rescue operation into a script and went

right to the source. He reveals, "When I read the article, I was riveted, and I was especially curious

about Tony Mendez, about what kind of guy could think outside the box enough to come up with

this plan and then undertake it. If I had pitched this as an original concept, brows would furrow and

people would say, 'No audience will ever believe that.' But Tony managed to convince the United

States government to attempt something that was even crazier than what most Hollywood studios

would dream up."

Mendez counters, "I don't think it's so unusual to associate Hollywood and the CIA, because an in-

strument of espionage is naturally stagecraft."

"That makes sense," Heslov nods. "In both worlds, you're forging fictional situations and playing

dress-up to create convincing scenarios, so there is an overlap."

Terrio arranged to meet with Mendez, who retired from the CIA in 1990. The screenwriter ob-

serves, "The structure of the film is a rescue, with people's lives hanging in the balance. The stakes

couldn't be higher. But in my communication with Tony, I wanted to know about his day-to-day

life, because if you understand the nuts and bolts of what the life of a CIA officer was like at this

time, there's a more complex drama there, which takes you beyond the action and suspense. When-

ever I started to get lost in the scale of the story—how these men and women were swept up by his-

torical events—I would remember that, underneath, it's just a human story about people trying to do

the best they can against overwhelming odds."

"You know you've hired the right writer when he connects so strongly to the material," Heslov says.

"Inherently, it's a terrific tale and that's half the battle, but Chris wrote an amazing script. It was all



there on the page from the very first draft."

Affleck agrees. "It was one of the best scripts I've ever read. I'm always on the lookout for a great

story, and I know when I find one. That was certainly the case with 'Argo.' It was a true page-turner,

so I was happy to get a crack at directing it."

Heslov and Clooney learned about Affleck's interest shortly after seeing his 2010 drama "The

Town." Says Heslov, "Ben has a wonderful sense of story and knows how to use the camera to tell

it. He also has a strong point of view, which, as a filmmaker, is probably the most important thing.

He understands how to build to a climax and brought even more of a thriller aspect to 'Argo' than

we envisioned."

One of the filmmakers' biggest challenges was the film's juxtaposition of life-or-death drama and

dry comedy. Heslov explains, "It starts out very serious, and then the tone changes, particularly

when you get to Hollywood. We wanted 'Argo' to have some levity, but it had to be integrated in a

cohesive way. In the end, I feel we got the right balance, and that's a testament to Ben as a director."

"The humor was an important part of the script," Affleck adds, "but it was the hardest line to walk.

My main concern was making sure the laughs did not jeopardize the sense of urgency or realism.

Luckily, we had Alan Arkin and John Goodman handling most of the comedy. They played every

line with such integrity that the humor feels innate and never strains belief."

Believability became the watchword of the entire production. However, Affleck underscores, "It is

not intended to be a documentary. As is always the case with a movie like this, elements had to be

compressed and some dramatic license was taken because it is, after all, a drama. But we were very

fortunate in that we could stay faithful to the spirit of what happened, because the truth of what

happened was incredibly compelling."

Terrio cites the film's closing minutes as an instance when the filmmakers used fictionalized events

to depict genuine emotions. "When I talked to Tony and read the houseguests' accounts of the actual

escape, I got a sense of how overwhelming and euphoric that moment was. To cinematically repli-

cate what they were feeling required more than just words. The action had to be wound up tight so

that their relief is tangible, and is also shared by the audience."

Affleck collaborated with his cast and creative teams to achieve a high level of verisimilitude, in

both time and place. He and cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto adopted distinct filming styles that

would convey the era of the late 1970s and '80, and establish a visual divide between the milieus of

Washington, DC; Hollywood, CA; and Iran. Production designer Sharon Seymour and costume de-

signer Jacqueline West examined photographs and film archives to re-create the look of the period

as it pertained to the film's decidedly different settings.

Affleck says, "In researching those three worlds, I started to plan how we were going to weave them

together to tell this extraordinary story. That's when the real work began."

And, according to those who were actually there, the work paid off. Ken Taylor says, "The movie

does a brilliant job of catching the mood and the tension in Tehran and the dedication of those in

diplomatic life, often in extraordinarily difficult circumstances. I also think the movie couldn't be

better in terms of timing. It takes place some 30-odd years ago, but it could well take place today."

"I was pleased about the prospect of this experience being made into a movie, and now that it's hap-



pened, it's exciting," Mendez states. "There was a point when it was important to keep the secret of

what happened for the greater good, but it's now a piece of history. Ben and everyone else involved

in the film did a remarkable job. Watching 'Argo' brought me right back to that moment in time.

Simply put, they got it right."

TURNER

You don't have a better bad

idea than this?

O'DONNELL

This is the best bad idea

we have, sir. By far.

The only character to inhabit all three worlds in "Argo" is Tony Mendez, the CIA's best exfiltration

officer—a specialist in getting people out of hostile spots. Terrio says, "Tony has to go into what is

really the 'belly of the beast'—the scariest place in the world if you're an American—and get six

people out. And the clock is ticking. He is also coming up against forces—whether bureaucratic or

geopolitical—that are making the task even harder than it already is. At a certain point, you can't

imagine it will end well because there are too many things saying it won't. The pressure on him

couldn't be higher, but the essence of Tony is that he's just a guy doing his job."

Affleck, who stars as Mendez, notes, "Tony steps up and does what he's asked to do, completely in

secret. No fanfare, no high-fives...just do the job and, if you succeed, go home and keep your mouth

shut. He puts his life on the line to try and save these people and that's heroic stuff. It's impressive

and also quite humbling."

Heslov remarks that Affleck possesses many of the qualities they saw in the role. "Ben has a sort of

quiet intensity about him that fit how we envisioned Tony. He is also a very smart guy, and you

need this character to feel smart; it's important that he appear in control of the situation and is capa-

ble of calling an audible if need be. And Ben is naturally funny, which was great in delivering that

brand of dry humor, particularly when Tony heads to Hollywood."

Before he can exercise his Hollywood option, Mendez needs approval from the powers that be, in-

cluding his direct superior, the assistant deputy director of the CIA, Jack O'Donnell, played by Bry-

an Cranston. "Tony Mendez answers to Jack O'Donnell, so Jack feels responsible for him and for

the mission," Cranston offers. "In my research about the CIA, one of the things that stood out to me

was the credo that they don't leave anyone behind. You go to any lengths possible to get them out of

harm's way, and that applied to the six trapped Americans who were there because they were work-

ing for the government. That really helped inform my character."

"Jack O'Donnell was a hard role to cast," says Affleck. "At first glance, you might think there'd be a

whole range of people who would be right for it, but you don't want to let the character become ge-

neric. You need an actor with the gravitas that Bryan was able to bring to it."

Cranston says that, once he read the script, he had no hesitation in taking the part. "There are things

that you respond to immediately, viscerally, and 'Argo' was definitely one of those. It was tense and

dramatic and engrossing, and every time I read it, I got charged up again. Opportunities to be a part

of something like this don't come along often, so I'm very glad I am."



Mendez might never have come up with the fake movie plan if he did not have a real movie contact

in renowned makeup artist John Chambers, who had been awarded an Honorary Oscar® for his

masks for the original "Planet of the Apes." Clandestinely, however, Chambers has been also apply-

ing his skills to the more serious pursuits of the government's Intelligence operations.

John Goodman, who portrays the makeup pioneer, remarks, "He loves his craft and is also keen on

using it to help the CIA; he enjoys serving his country in that way. So when Tony comes to him and

says he needs help putting a movie together, Chambers is intrigued. I was very attracted to the

whole double life aspect of the character, but, first and foremost, it's just a plain great, gripping sto-

ry.

"I also wanted to work with Ben Affleck because he's a terrific actor and already has a great track

record as a director," Goodman continues. "It was interesting to watch him go back and forth be-

tween the two. He knew exactly what he wanted, but he was flexible and a very generous collabora-

tor, too. He came up with ideas for my character I didn't think of. It was wonderful working with

him."

The feeling is mutual. Affleck attests, "John is such a good actor. Just look at the breadth and scope

of the roles he's done; he can be purely comedic or someone you take very seriously, and he also

has a tremendous gift for subtlety and nuance. I respect him so much."

Although the movie is only a charade, it has to be a believable one, so Mendez and Chambers need

a bona fide producer. Affleck explains, "When you look at it from the point of view of building a

cover, well the cover had better be strong, so they had to have a presence. We wanted someone who

would be emblematic of Old Hollywood, somebody who knows everybody, the kind of guy you

would go to if you needed to make your fake movie look legit."

Enter Lester Siegel, who, Chris Terrio reveals, "is actually a composite of people, ranging from ac-

tual producers I've met to some legendary moguls who came to Hollywood and used their street

smarts to make it big. I loved the idea that what is likely to be Lester's last hurrah is going to be a

movie that doesn't really exist but could save six lives."

To play this industry icon, the filmmakers cast an industry icon: Alan Arkin. Affleck affirms, "Alan

has been revered in our business for decades. He is, himself, a legendary figure, so bringing that

stature to his character was a no-brainer."

"Lester is a tough, smart film producer who knows the business inside and out," Arkin describes.

"He's skeptical at first about the possibility of this plan working at all, but as he gets more involved,

the challenge of it energizes him...the fact that it did seem impossible. To me, one of the most po-

tent aspects of the film is that they were confronted with an untenable situation and found a creative

solution that did not involve any violence whatsoever."

Despite Lester's edict that if he's going to produce a fake movie "it's going to be a fake hit," Arkin

admits, "They're making the cheesiest conceivable film; it's just dreadful. The only reason they

chose it was because it can be used as a blind to get into Iran, not because it has any merit whatso-

ever as a film," he laughs. "There is a quote from Mark Twain that I love that goes, 'The only dif-

ference between reality and fiction is that fiction has to be credible.' So they go to great pains to

make it look like a genuine production. They have trade ads, casting calls, a script reading for the

press, costumes... It's imperative, because any mistake could have resulted in them being found

out."



Heslov states, "What impressed me most about Alan is that he can be outrageously funny one mi-

nute, and then he has a scene with Ben where their characters are talking about their kids and he's

just so real. That's why he's been one of our greatest actors for all these years."

JOE STAFFORD

You really believe your little

story is gonna make a difference

when there's a gun to our heads?

TONY MENDEZ

I think my little story is the

only thing between you and

a gun to your heads.

The film company fronting Mendez's cinematic ruse is dubbed Studio Six Productions, a subtle

wink to the mission behind the movie: the rescue of the six Americans who have now spent more

than two months in hiding in the home of Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor, played by Victor Gar-

ber.

Garber expounds, "Ken Taylor and his wife, Pat, take in the Americans, which is a very courageous

thing to do. It puts them at great peril, not just diplomatically but personally, because if their house-

guests were caught, it would be extremely bad for them as well. I was so impressed by what this

man did and felt a great responsibility in playing him, because what he did was heroic and remains

so."

Terrio relates, "This operation was publicly known as the 'Canadian Caper,' which is fitting because

when other countries refused to help the six escapees, Canada, without hesitation, took them in and

kept them protected. As is seen, the Taylors clearly knew their lives would be at stake, but they

bravely harbored the Americans anyway and were instrumental in giving cover to the rescue mis-

sion."

"Victor was perfect for the role of Ken Taylor, beginning with the fact that he happens to be Cana-

dian," Affleck states. "He also perfectly embodies the quiet heroism of this man who stepped up and

did what was right because it was the moral thing to do. But mostly, Victor is a spectacular guy and

wonderfully talented, and I was just thrilled to have him on the set."

In casting the six Americans, Affleck reveals, "I had photos of the real people up in my office be-

cause I was trying to stay in the zone of how they actually looked. But more importantly, I wanted

good actors who were willing to take risks, willing to improvise, and were able to deliver the kind

of realism I was looking for."

Making up the ensemble of houseguests were: Tate Donovan as the de facto leader of the group,

Bob Anders; Scoot McNairy as Joe Stafford, the only one of the six who is fluent in Farsi; Kerry

Bishé as Joe's wife, Kathy; Christopher Denham and Clea DuVall as the other married couple, Mark

and Cora Lijek; and Rory Cochrane as Lee Schatz.

While the houseguests are enjoying the relative physical comforts offered by the ambassador's hos-

pitality, they are shut in and cut off and living in a constant state of fear that overshadows their day-



to-day existence.

Kerry Bishé comments, "There's a contradictory feeling to what their life is like. They have dinner

parties and drink and play games, and yet it's terrifying. I also imagine there's a sense of guilt; the

fact that their other colleagues are truly in captivity must weigh on them."

"When we pick up with them," Clea DuVall says, "it's about ten weeks into their being behind

closed doors. They are starting to feel a little edgy and claustrophobic and there's always the under-

lying threat of being found. It's at the point where everybody knows it is time for them to get out."

Affleck wanted the six actors to not just play their parts but to experience, on a deeper level, what

the circumstances would be like for their characters. So, prior to the start of principal photography,

he sequestered them for a week in the home that would later double as the ambassador's residence.

The house was dressed in the style of the period as were the actors, who wore their costumes during

that week. To immerse them fully in the time, the director cut them off from the rest of the world,

not allowing any computers, cell phones, or anything that started with an "i."

The director details, "We took away everything contemporary and gave them music, games, books,

magazines and newspapers from that period. They didn't have the internet and couldn't watch out-

side TV. Without those things to fall back, they had to actually talk to each other. I wanted them to

get comfortable with one another in a way that felt natural. It's much harder to 'act' familiarity. It's

more of a chemical thing; your body relaxes and you adopt a certain posture and talk to people dif-

ferently. That's the kind of connection I wanted to see, and it definitely paid off in cementing the

vibe of the group mentality."

The actors playing the houseguests agree, noting that Affleck's method achieved everything he'd

hoped to gain and more.

"I'm really glad we did that," says Rory Cochrane. "It was amazing how quickly we formed a rap-

port. It definitely aided my preparation."

Scoot McNairy attests, "We became a very tight-knit unit. Everybody got along and all the egos

went out the door. Just the fact that we got to know each other so well allowed for us to improvise

and play off one another better."

"It created a unique camaraderie among the group," Christopher Denham notes. "We had to let our

guards down and, as a result, we became fast friends. And I believe those intangibles will show up

onscreen."

Tate Donovan concedes that he was reluctant, at first, to be confined for an entire week, especially

without the tether to any modern-day devices. "I was pretty bummed," he nods. "So I went into it

like, 'All right, I'll play along.' But I have to say, I became a total convert. We had a lot of fun...we

chatted and played games and developed into a team. And when it came time to shoot, we already

had a shorthand. Ben fostered a safe place for us to work out things about our characters, and that

was such a benefit."

The cast of "Argo" also includes a number of actors playing the people, Stateside, who were invest-

ed in efforts to rescue the six Americans, including: Kyle Chandler as White House Chief of Staff

Hamilton Jordan; Chris Messina as Mario Malinov; Željko Ivanek as Robert Pender; Titus Welliver

as Jon Bates; Keith Szarabajka as Adam Engell; and Bob Gunton as Secretary of State Cyrus



Vance. In addition, Page Leong plays Dr. Pat Taylor, the wife of Ambassador Taylor, and Richard

Kind appears as Max Klein, a screenwriter who mistakenly tries to play hardball with Lester Siegel.

"We had so many noteworthy actors who wanted to be a part of this, and I think that reflects on the

quality of the script, as well as the remarkable story," Affleck says.

JOHN CHAMBERS

So you want to come to Hollywood,

act like a big shot without actually

doing anything? ... You'll fit right in.

The story of "Argo" opens with the explosive events in Iran, which trigger strong reactions in

Washington, DC, ultimately leading to rescue plans unfolding in Hollywood. In navigating between

those disparate settings, Affleck collaborated with his creative teams to depict the culture clashes, as

well as the times. "My main goal was that it all had to feel organic and not self-conscious," says Af-

fleck. "Everything from the sets to the clothes to the hairstyles had to blend into the background,

and also be unimpeachable in terms of accuracy."

Affleck and cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto endeavored to evoke what the latter calls "a visual tap-

estry that gives a specific quality and frame of reference to each section of the film. We wanted to

help the audience instantly identify where we are as soon as the images change on the screen."

This was especially important, as there were segments shot in Los Angeles that would need to blend

seamlessly with other perspectives of the same scene, accomplished later on location—whether in

Washington, DC, or in Turkey, which stood in for Iran. Prieto continues, "We needed to unify the

look of each section, even if shots were done in different parts of the world."

One example Prieto points to is the harrowing embassy takeover, which sets "Argo" in motion.

"The embassy compound and interiors were filmed at the Veteran's Administration north of Los

Angeles, while everything outside the embassy wall was shot weeks later in Istanbul. We connected

the Iran-set sequences with a distinctly granular texture to enhance the feeling of uneasiness."

For scenes within the ambassador's home, Affleck mainly utilized handheld cameras but qualifies,

"I didn't want it to be obvious; I told them not to add any shake, no pop zooms. Instead, I had the

actors do the scene as written a few times and then I would have them start improvising, so what

resulted was the cameramen were the ones improvising. They'd be expecting one person to talk and

then somebody else would speak, so it's that feeling of shifting your attention as you normally

would in a conversation."

By contrast, Affleck says, "For the DC scenes, there was nothing handheld; it was all on the dolly

so the movements were much smoother and more grounded. Then for Hollywood, I put in a lot of

zooms—zooms from helicopters, zooms from cars—which was a technique you saw a lot in the

'70s. And the color was much more saturated. So, photographically, every setting has a very specific

look."

Production designer Sharon Seymour and costume designer Jacqueline West collaborated with Af-

fleck to establish the period and backdrops in a more tactile way. With the help of researcher Max

Daly, they began by poring over scores of photographs and stacks of print media, and watching

hours of television news footage and movies.



Seymour observes, "So much has changed that we take for granted now. Technology was totally

different; there weren't computers on every desk. For all the office scenes, we had to track down old

typewriters, telexes, and other equipment we don't see, or hear, anymore."

The Los Angeles Times building in Downtown L.A. was repurposed for various interiors, including

the '70s-era offices and conference rooms of the CIA. In dressing the sets, Seymour's team paid

careful attention to even the smallest details, from the ubiquitous ashtrays, which would be unseem-

ly today, to the world maps, which have drastically changed over the last three decades.

In designing costumes for those working at the CIA or in other areas of government, West offers

that, despite the serious nature of their jobs, "the '70s were a wonderfully freeing time, when even

somewhat conservative people could express themselves in their clothes. There were colorful wide

ties and plaids with prints... All of the fashion rules were broken. Working on movies is wonderful

in that way—you get to live, for a while, in another time and place. I loved it."

For the character of Tony Mendez, the costume designer had the added bonus of being able to con-

sult Affleck's real-life counterpart. West confirms, "I emailed Tony and asked him for a description

of what he wore, and it was lovely of him to share that with me. When he went on missions, he

turned into what he calls 'the little gray man,' so he would kind of disappear into the crowd. But at

the CIA, I figured he wasn't so much of a suit guy, more of an independent thinker. I found out he

did sometimes wear suits, but he preferred herringbone Harris Tweed jackets, so that's something I

put Ben in."

West reasoned that the six houseguests would have limited wardrobe changes, as they arrived at the

Taylors' home with just the clothes on their backs. "We assumed that they would exchange a piece

here, or there or that Pat Taylor might have brought them some things, but overall, their look stays

pretty much the same throughout."

The Canadian ambassador's home was located in the Los Angeles suburb of Hancock Park. The

flow between the rooms of the house, as well as the existing decor, lent themselves perfectly to the

production. Seymour comments, "Avocado was the color for kitchens at the time, and the kitchen in

that house had never been redone. In fact, it was more lime than avocado, with green and white tiles

and fern-colored wallpaper. When I walked in, I thought, 'Oh my, this is even better, or should I say

worse, than I could have designed it,'" she laughs.

Studio Six Productions set up its offices on the Warner Bros. lot, where the logo on the emblematic

water tower was changed back to The Burbank Studios, as it was known then. Down the street from

the studio, Mendez and Chambers began developing their fake movie at the historic SmokeHouse

Restaurant, from which Clooney and Heslov took their production company name.

Going over the hill from the San Fernando Valley, scenes were also filmed at the luxurious Beverly

Hilton Hotel. A posh Bel Air house once owned by Zsa Zsa Gabor became the home of Lester

Siegel.

Befitting his status, Lester drives a 1975 gold Rolls Royce, while John Chambers sports a '77 Cadil-

lac Eldorado. Picture car coordinator Ted Moser was charged with finding and, in some cases, re-

furbishing those and other now-vintage vehicles, including the gleaming Airstream trailer, which

serves as Chambers' headquarters. He remarks, "We polished it up to the nines and then crafted the

inside to be this cool makeup trailer. We also restored his Eldorado to look like new, but the back-



ground vehicles couldn't look like they came out of car clubs."

That especially applied to the assortment of cars Moser gathered for the Iran sequences, including

Granadas, Fiats, Peugots, Mavericks, and a VW Bus, as well as a 1962 Unimog troop transport and

the classic Matador cop cars that are seen in a nail-biting chase sequence at the Tehran Airport.

Ontario International Airport, about 150 miles east of Los Angeles, stood in for the crowded Tehran

Airport. Seymour's team dressed the terminal with Farsi signage, as well as giant posters of the

Ayatollah Khomeini. Affleck recalls, "We were fortunate to have many Persian extras, some of

whom had been in Iran during the Revolution. I was very gratified when they would come up to us

and say, 'This brings me back 30 years...' and tell us their stories. They were also very committed to

helping us make it right; in fact, some of them really got into it, pointing out the tiniest discrepan-

cies. It did allow me to needle Sharon, like, 'Sharon, that man told me the lion is wrong on this

poster. I can't believe you let this happen,'" he grins.

The filmmakers knew it was unfeasible to shoot on location in Iran, so they chose Istanbul, in

neighboring Turkey, to stand in for Tehran. The only city in the world to span two continents—

bridging Europe and Asia—Istanbul also serves as Tony Mendez's transit point, where he obtains

his visa from the Iranian Consulate.

"Istanbul is a phenomenal city to be in and work in," Affleck states. "We were all struck by the

friendliness of everyone we met. We were also enormously grateful for the outstanding local crew

and the cooperation of the public."

Notably, two of Istanbul's most magnificent landmarks were used to film scenes set in the ancient

city: the Blue Mosque, which is viewed only from the outside; and the interior of the Hagia Sofia,

where Tony Mendez has a clandestine meeting with a British Intelligence counterpart. Says Af-

fleck, "The Hagia Sofia is an incredible place because it was a church, then a mosque and it's now a

museum, so it truly represents an intersection of cultures."

One large space in which they were shooting is lit by dozens of circular chandeliers, the light bulbs

for which had, in recent years, been converted to compact fluorescents. Unfortunately, they cast too

harsh a light—not to mention they did not exist in 1980. Members of the crew worked overnight to

switch out the more than 4,000 bulbs, resulting in the softer light the filmmakers needed.

Perhaps the most challenging sequence was the escalating demonstration that boils over into the

breach of the U.S. Embassy's Roosevelt Gate. The scene was accomplished on a soccer pitch in the

residential district of Barkikoy. The field could accommodate the more than 1,300 people, all shout-

ing anti-American chants in Farsi, which swell to a deafening crescendo.

Dressing the extras was an especially daunting task because Jacqueline West not only had to accu-

rately reflect the time but also the mores of that society. She says, "We made hundreds of chadors,

the long, black cloak the women wore, and also made all the clothes for the Mullahs. Military jack-

ets, in the style of Castro or Che Guevara, were the badge of the revolutionaries, so we provided

dozens of those. But it was a cast of thousands, so we had to be very resourceful in either creating

or finding everything we needed."

To bring the audience directly into the erupting chaos, Affleck infiltrated the mob with cameramen

dressed as extras, armed with 16mm cameras to shoot random footage. In addition, the director,

along with several others, waded into the throng to film the mounting riot in Super 8. "The negative



for Super 8 is tiny, so when it's blown up in a movie theatre, it looks incredibly grainy," Affleck ex-

plains. "Pulled together, it all looked and felt so much like the actual imagery, but other than the

little bit of stock footage that you see on the TVs, it's all new."

Chris Terrio comments, "It's chilling because it looks so much like the archival material. There was

a sea of humanity outside the embassy gates, and that's what they re-created. The extras really got

swept up in it, because you can't help but feel the energy when you're in a crowd of people with that

kind of fervor."

That also held true for the smaller yet equally vehement demonstration that Mendez and the six

houseguests—now posing as a Canadian film crew—must drive through on the way to their sup-

posed location scout in the Grand Bazaar.

"When they started rocking the van, we were genuinely frightened," Clea DuVall affirms. "It did

feel like it could tip over, and there were all these people screaming at us. I can tell you, it definitely

didn't require much acting to appear nervous."

Christopher Denham adds, "It's one thing to read in the script that protesters are banging on the bus,

but to actually be surrounded by hundreds of people acting like they want to kill you is quite anoth-

er thing. It really does a job on you."

That included Affleck. Scoot McNairy reveals, "One guy grabbed a rock and began hitting the

windshield. I remember looking over at Ben and even he looked scared for a minute there. It was

intense."

For filming in the Grand Bazaar, the timing could not have been more perfect, as the normally

teeming shops were closed for a major holiday. "The bazaar in Istanbul was fantastic," Seymour

enthuses. "It very much had the flavor of the one in Tehran, because they're both among the oldest

in the world. Not surprisingly, a lot of the stuff in the shops has a timeless feel, so we didn't have to

change a lot. The main challenge was the huge amount of Turkish signage that had to be converted

to Farsi."

"The Istanbul bazaar was labyrinthine; it was all at odd angles so you could easily get turned around

in an alleyway and be totally lost," Affleck recalls. "But it was very cool and we were fortunate that

everything was shut down so we had the freedom to film there."

Grant Heslov says, "I've heard Istanbul referred to as the 'crossroads of the world,' but until you're

there, you don't realize how beautiful it is. The history of the city is profound and it's everywhere

you turn. We had a very ambitious schedule in Turkey, and it all went off without a hitch, thanks in

no small part to the local people. It was definitely the right place to shoot."

From Turkey, the production traveled to Washington, DC. The filmmakers and members of the cast

were honored to be given even limited access to the actual CIA headquarters in Langley, VA, where

they learned the CIA is very much...well...the CIA. Heslov relates, "When we entered the building,

everybody was told to leave their phones in a basket, and, to be honest, I didn't do that. It's not that I

wanted to make calls; I just didn't want to give up my phone. And minutes later, a CIA officer

walked in and said, 'Okay, who's got the iPhone?' I admitted it was me, but then I had to ask how he

knew. He took me to the back where he showed me this whole computer set-up where they can

monitor where a cell phone is, what the number is...they can tell everything. It was pretty eye-

opening."



Bryan Cranston comments, "Just walking down the halls at Langley was inspirational. Those were

the most important scenes to me because I knew what a privilege it was for me, as a civilian, to be

there."

Affleck says, "There was an interesting duality to the building because you'd be walking down this

rather plain looking hallway, but then you'd see a door marked Counter Terrorism Unit. That was

impressive. It was moving for me just to walk over the seal and to see the stars on the wall com-

memorating those who have given their lives in service to the Central Intelligence Agency. That's

why I designed a specific shot where Tony goes by and we hold on the stars. We wanted people to

see that."

The filmmakers had to digitally remove some of the stars because the number was fewer at the time

of the events in the film. It is noteworthy that some stars still don't have the names of the fallen of-

ficers because their missions are still deemed classified.

Following the wrap of principal photography, Affleck teamed with editor William Goldenberg to

bring the interwoven pieces from the different location shoots together.

The director also knew that music would serve as the connective tissue between the story's three

separate worlds. Affleck utilized source music from the era to put the audience into the time frame,

especially in the Hollywood sequence. "Associations with music are something we all carry in the

back of our minds. You hear a song, and it sets the scene, in and of itself," he says.

Affleck adds that within the score, composed by Alexandre Desplat, "We needed to find a theme

that we would use throughout—obviously different instrumentation and tempo, but still the same

piece of music. Alexandre was amazing at crafting an atypical score, incorporating uncommon in-

struments, many Middle Eastern in origin. It doesn't feel too literal or cliché, but he created a sound

that instantly puts you in that place."

Nevertheless, Chris Terrio emphasizes, "You don't need to know anything about the Middle East or

the politics of the time to get caught up in the story. At the heart of this movie is a daring rescue of

six people from a very dangerous place, and the fact that it's based on truth makes it all the more

compelling."

Affleck concludes, "It's thrilling and suspenseful and scary, but it's also funny and, I hope, enter-

taining. On a deeper level, it's about the power of storytelling because for so long this story could

not be told. But this is a moment when we can all be proud of what these people did."



About the Cast

BEN AFFLECK (Tony Mendez / Director / Producer) has been recognized for his work as an ac-

tor, writer, director, and producer.

Affleck made his directorial debut in 2007 with the feature "Gone Baby Gone," for which he won

several critics groups' awards, including the Best Directorial Debut Award from the National Board

of Review. He also won the Breakthrough Director of the Year Award at the 2007 Hollywood Film

Festival. Ben also co-wrote the screenplay for the film, adapted from the Dennis Lehane novel.

In 2010, he directed and starred in "The Town," in addition to co-writing the screenplay. The film

was named a Movie of the Year by the American Film Institute (AFI), and the cast won the Nation-

al Board of Review Award for Best Acting by an Ensemble. In addition, Affleck earned a Writers

Guild of America Award nomination for "The Town," which also brought Oscar®, Golden Globe

and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award® nominations to Jeremy Renner. Also in 2010, Affleck

starred alongside Tommy Lee Jones in John Wells' drama "The Company Men."

This summer, Affleck shot a starring role in "Runner, Runner," directed by Brad Furman and slated

for release next year. He is next set to direct a film about notorious Boston mobster Whitey Bulger,

in which he and Matt Damon will star. The film will be produced by their production company,

Pearl Street Films.

Affleck first came to prominence in 1997 with the acclaimed "Good Will Hunting," which he

starred in and co-wrote with Matt Damon. For their work, they won an Academy Award® for Best

Original Screenplay, as well as a Golden Globe Award and Humanitas Prize. The following year,

Affleck starred in John Madden's Academy Award®-winning "Shakespeare in Love," winning a

SAG Award® as part of the ensemble cast.

His subsequent film credits include "Armageddon" and "Pearl Harbor," both directed by Michael

Bay; "Forces of Nature"; Ben Younger's "Boiler Room"; Roger Michell's "Changing Lanes": "The

Sum of All Fears"; the screen adaptation of Marvel Comics' "Daredevil"; Kevin Smith's "Jersey

Girl"; and Kevin Macdonald's "State of Play."

In 2006, Affleck earned widespread praise for his portrayal of ill-fated actor George Reeves in the

noir drama "Hollywoodland." The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where Affleck won

the coveted Volpi Award for Best Actor. He also received Golden Globe and Critics' Choice Award

nominations for Best Actor, as well as the Best Actor Award at the Hollywood Film Festival. Addi-

tionally, Affleck appeared in the ensemble casts of "Extract" and "He's Just Not That Into You."

In 2000, Affleck partnered with Matt Damon, Chris Moore and Sean Bailey to form LivePlanet,

Inc. Their first endeavor, "Project Greenlight," aired on HBO and drew critical, audience and indus-

try attention for its behind-the-scenes look at the challenges faced by a first-time filmmaker. The

second season of "Project Greenlight" aired on HBO at the beginning of 2003, with a third season

on Bravo. All three series were nominated for Emmy Awards.

In addition to his successful film career, Affleck is also a passionate advocate and philanthropist. In

March 2010, he founded the Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI), an advocacy and grant-making initia-

tive with the mission of helping the Congolese people support local community-based approaches

that create a sustainable and successful society in the long-troubled region. ECI is the first U.S.-

based advocacy and grant-making initiative wholly focused on working with and for the people of



eastern Congo. Affleck is also a longtime political activist and strong supporter of many charitable

organizations, such as Feeding America, Paralyzed Veterans of America, A-T Children's Project

and The Jimmy Fund.

BRYAN CRANSTON (Jack O'Donnell) has won three Emmy Awards, for Outstanding Lead Actor

in a Drama Series, for his portrayal of Walter White on AMC's "Breaking Bad," now in its fifth sea-

son. Cranston has the distinction of being the first actor in a cable series, and only the second actor

in Emmy history, with three consecutive Best Actor wins. His performance on "Breaking Bad" has

also brought him two Golden Globe nominations and four Screen Actors Guild Award® nomina-

tions, and he most recently received another Emmy nomination.

Cranston previously starred for seven seasons on the hit comedy series "Malcolm in the Middle."

He earned three Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe nomination for his role as the dad, Hal

Wilkerson.

On the big screen, Cranston will next be seen in the comedy "Get a Job." He also starred this sum-

mer as villain Vilos Cohaagen in the remake of the sci-fi thriller "Total Recall." His recent film

work also includes Adam Shankman's "Rock of Ages," "John Carter," "Red Tails," Nicolas Wind-

ing Refn's "Drive," and Steven Soderbergh's "Contagion," in which he joined an all-star ensemble

cast. He also lent his voice to the animated hit "Madagascar 3." Cranston's many other film credits

include the Tom Hanks-directed films "Larry Crowne" and "That Thing You Do!"; The Lincoln

Lawyer"; "Little Miss Sunshine"; "Seeing Other People"; and Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private

Ryan."

Born and raised in Southern California, Cranston began pursuing his acting career after college,

starting on the stage in community theater and summer stock. He went on to appear in numerous

television shows, including a recurring role on "Seinfeld." Among his longform credits, he por-

trayed astronaut Buzz Aldrin on the award-winning HBO miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon."

Cranston continues to return to the stage whenever possible. His theatre credits include productions

of "The God of Hell," "Chapter Two," "The Taming of the Shrew," "A Doll's House," "Eastern

Standard," "Wrestlers," "Barefoot in the Park," and "The Steven Weed Show," for which he won a

Drama-Logue Award.

Cranston has also enjoyed success behind the camera, most recently directing several episodes of

"Breaking Bad," on which he serves as a producer. He earlier wrote the original romantic drama

"Last Chance" as a birthday gift for his wife, Robin Dearden, and also directed, produced and

starred in the film. In addition, Cranston directed several episodes of "Malcolm in the Middle" and

the Comedy Central pilot "Special Unit." In early 2011, Cranston served as executive producer of

an exclusive online series called "The Handlers" for Atom.com, in which he played Jack Powers,

campaigning to win a seat in the State Senate.

ALAN ARKIN (Lester Siegel), long one of the most respected artists of the stage and screen, won

an Academy Award® for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 2006 hit "Little Miss

Sunshine." For his role, Arkin also won an Independent Spirit Award and a BAFTA Award, and

shared in a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award® for Outstanding Motion Picture Cast, in addition to

receiving an individual SAG Award® nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a

Supporting Role.



Following "Argo," Arkin has a range of films forthcoming, including "Stand Up Guys," and "The

Incredible Burt Wonderstone." His latest credits include the family hit "The Muppets," the comedy

"The Change-Up," the heartwarming "Marley & Me" and the action comedy "Get Smart."

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Arkin launched his career with Chicago's improvisational revue "Se-

cond City." This led to his 1963 Broadway bow in the play "Enter Laughing," based on Carl

Reiner's book, for which Arkin won a Tony Award. The following year, he starred on Broadway in

Murray Schisgal's hit "LUV."

In 1966, Arkin made his major feature film debut, starring in Norman Jewison's comedy smash

"The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming." For his performance in the comedy, Arkin

earned his first Oscar® nomination, for Best Actor, and won a Golden Globe Award. He garnered a

second Best Actor Oscar® nomination for his performance in the 1968 drama "The Heart is a Lone-

ly Hunter," for which he also won a New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) Award and received a

Golden Globe nomination. He gained another Golden Globe nomination for the title role in "Popi."

With more than 70 films spanning over 45 years, his long list of credits also includes "Wait Until

Dark"; "Catch-22"; "Little Murders," which marked his feature film directorial debut; "Hearts of the

West," for which he won an NYFCC Award; "The Seven-Per-Cent Solution"; "The In-Laws"; "Ed-

ward Scissorhands"; "Havana"; "Glengarry Glen Ross"; "Mother Night"; "So I Married an Axe

Murderer"; "Grosse Point Blank"; "Gattaca"; "Slums of Beverly Hills"; "Jakob the Liar"; "Ameri-

ca's Sweethearts"; "Thirteen Conversations About One Thing," receiving another Spirit Award

nomination; "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause"; "Rendition"; "Thin Ice"; "City Island"; and

"Sunshine Cleaning." He has also directed several short films, including "People Soup," which was

Oscar®-nominated for Best Live Action Short.

Arkin has also been recognized for his work on television, earning four Emmy Award nominations,

the most recent for his performance in the telefilm "The Pentagon Papers." He also earned Emmy

and Golden Globe nominations for his work in the true-life Holocaust drama "Escape from So-

bibor." His other Emmy nods came for his guest role on "Chicago Hope" and the drama "ABC

Stage 67." Among his many other television credits, Arkin starred in the acclaimed A&E series

"100 Centre Street," created, written and directed by Sidney Lumet and also appeared in the Show-

time movie "Varian's War." In addition, Arkin directed the television adaptation of the Broadway

play "Twigs," starring Carol Burnett, and two episodes of the PBS series "Trying Times."

Arkin began directing for the stage in 1966 with the much-acclaimed "Eh?," starring Dustin Hoff-

man at the Circle in the Square. He then won an Obie for directing Jules Feiffer's "Little Murders,"

followed by Feiffer's "The White House Murder Case." He won Drama Desk Awards for his direc-

tion of both plays, also presented at Circle in the Square. On Broadway, Arkin directed the Neil Si-

mon hit "The Sunshine Boys," for which he was nominated for a Tony for Best Direction of a Play.

In 1998, he directed, starred in and co-wrote, with Elaine May, the hit production of "Power Plays"

at the Promenade Theatre. His directing work also includes the Broadway musical "Molly"; "Rub-

bers and Yanks Three," at The American Place Theater; "Joan of Lorraine," at the Hartman in Stam-

ford; "The Sorrows of Stephen," at the Burt Reynolds Theatre, starring his son Adam; and "Room

Service," at the Roundabout in New York.

Arkin has also written several books, including eight children's books, the latest entitled Tony's

Hard Work Day. An earlier book, The Lemming Condition, was honored by The Book Sellers of

America by being placed in the White House Library. In 2011, Arkin released a memoir entitled An



Improvised Life.

JOHN GOODMAN (John Chambers) is well known to both film and television audiences. He re-

cently starred in the Best Picture Oscar® winner "The Artist," writer/director Michel Hazanavicius's

homage to Hollywood's silent film era. Goodman shared in both Screen Actors Guild (SAG)

Award® and Critics' Choice Award nominations for Outstanding Motion Picture Cast as a member

of the film's ensemble.

Goodman is currently co-starring with Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams and Justin Timberlake in

"Trouble With the Curve." Later this fall, he stars with Denzel Washington in Robert Zemeckis'

drama "Flight." Among his other upcoming films are the Coen brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis"; the

Will Ferrell comedy "The Internship"; and Todd Phillips' "The Hangover Part III," completing the

blockbuster comedy franchise.

On television, Goodman starred with Al Pacino in the 2010 HBO biopic "You Don't Know Jack,"

earning Emmy and SAG Award® nominations for his portrayal of Jack Kevorkian's longtime asso-

ciate Neal Nicol. Goodman won an Emmy Award in 2007 for his guest role on Aaron's Sorkin's se-

ries "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip." He earlier received two Emmy nominations for Best Actor in a

Miniseries or Special, for his work in the television adaptation of Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar

Named Desire" and for his performance in the title role of "Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long."

Goodman first became a favorite of television viewers when he starred for nine seasons on the

smash hit sitcom "Roseanne." Over the course of the show's run, he won a Golden Globe for Best

Actor in a Comedy Series, as well as earning three more Golden Globe nominations, seven Emmy

nominations and a SAG Award® nomination. His numerous credits also include a recurring role on

Sorkin's "The West Wing," and starring roles on seasons of HBO's "Treme," FX's "Damages" and

NBC's "Community."

On the big screen, Goodman received a Golden Globe nomination for his chilling performance in

the Coen brothers' 1991 film "Barton Fink." He first collaborated with the Coens on the hit comedy

"Raising Arizona," and has since reunited with them on the films "The Hudsucker Proxy," "The Big

Lebowski" and "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"

Goodman was more recently seen in Stephen Daldry's acclaimed drama "Extremely Loud & Incred-

ibly Close" and Kevin Smith's indie political thriller "Red State." His long list of credits also in-

cludes "Evan Almighty," "Speed Racer," "Beyond the Sea," "One Night at McCool's," "Coyote Ug-

ly," "What Planet Are You From?," "Bringing Out the Dead," "Fallen," "The Borrowers," "Mother

Night," "The Flintstones," "Born Yesterday," "The Babe," "King Ralph," "Arachnophobia," "Stel-

la," "Always," "Sea of Love," "Everybody's All-American," "Punchline," "The Wrong Guys," "The

Big Easy," "Sweet Dreams," and "Revenge of the Nerds," to name only a portion.

In addition to his work in front of the camera, he has lent his distinctive voice to numerous animat-

ed features, including "Monsters, Inc.," "Cars," "The Emperor's New Groove," "The Jungle Book

2," "Bee Movie," "The Princess and the Frog" and, most recently, "ParaNorman." He will reprise

his "Monsters, Inc." role of Scully in the upcoming film "Monsters University."

A St. Louis native, Goodman earned a BFA in Theatre from Southwest Missouri State, and has ap-

peared in a wide range of plays, musicals and children's theatre productions. He made his Broadway

debut in "Loose Ends," and, in 1985, earned a Drama Desk Award nomination for his work in the



Broadway musical "Big River." In 2001, he starred with Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline in the

Shakespeare in the Park production of "The Seagull," directed by Mike Nichols, followed by the

Public Theatre's 2002 presentation of "The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui." He more recently starred

in the 2009 Broadway revival of "Waiting for Godot."

VICTOR GARBER (Ken Taylor) has been seen in some of the most memorable film, television

and theatre projects of the past four decades. He has shared in two Screen Actors Guild (SAG)

Award® nominations for Outstanding Motion Picture Cast, the latest for Gus Van Sant's award-

winning biopic "Milk," in which he portrayed San Francisco Mayor George Moscone. The cast of

"Milk" also won a Critics' Choice Award for Best Acting Ensemble. Garber was previously nomi-

nated for a SAG Award® as a member of the cast of James Cameron's Oscar®-winning blockbuster

"Titanic." His additional film credits include "Kung Fu Panda 2," "You Again," "Legally Blonde,"

"The First Wives Club," "Sleepless in Seattle," "Life with Mikey," and the screen adaptation of the

musical "Godspell."

A six-time Emmy nominee, Garber received three of his Emmy nods for his role on the hit ABC

drama "Alias," in which he starred opposite Jennifer Garner. He has also earned Emmy nominations

for his portrayal of Sid Luft in the telefilm "Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows," and his

guest roles on the comedy series "Frasier" and "Will & Grace." In addition, Garber starred on the

series "Web Therapy," "Eli Stone" and "Justice," and has guest starred on numerous shows, most

recently including "Damages," "30 Rock," "The Big C," "Glee" and "Nurse Jackie." He has also

starred in such longform projects as "The Last Templar," "Meredith Willson's The Music Man,"

"Call Me Claus," "Laughter on the 23rd Floor," "Annie," "Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella,"

"Dieppe" and "The First Circle," to name only a few.

Garber is also an accomplished stage actor, whose extensive credits encompass lead roles in both

plays and musicals. He has earned four Tony Award nominations, for his work in "Damn Yankees,"

"Lend Me a Tenor," "Little Me" and "Deathtrap." He also starred in the Tony Award-winning play

"Art" and the original Broadway productions of "Arcadia," "The Devil's Disciple," "Noises Off"

and Stephen Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," and performed in the

workshops of Sondheim's "Wise Guys," as well as "Assassins." He has since garnered rave reviews

in Sondheim's "Follies," for City Center Encores, and "Present Laughter," directed by Nicholas

Martin at the Huntington Theatre. The latter moved to Broadway in January 2010, with Garber re-

prising his starring role.

TATE DONOVAN (Bob Anders) recently starred for three seasons on the acclaimed FX drama

series "Damages," with Glenn Close. He is currently working on the new NBC drama series "Infa-

mous."

On the big screen, Donovan was a member of the ensemble cast of George Clooney's acclaimed

2005 drama "Good Night, and Good Luck.," for which he shared in a Screen Actors Guild Award®

nomination. His more recent credits include Antoine Fuqua's thriller "Shooter," with Mark Wahl-

berg; "Nancy Drew"; and the independent films "Neal Cassady," "Wild About Harry" and "Below

the Beltway."

Among his previous film credits are "The Pacifier," directed by Adam Shankman; Dominic Sena's

"Swordfish"; "Murder at 1600"; "The Only Thrill"; John Madden's "Ethan Frome"; "Love Potion

#9"; Alan Rudolph's "Equinox"; "Inside Monkey Zetterland," for which Donovan earned an Inde-



pendent Spirit Award nomination; Michael Caton-Jones' "Memphis Belle"; John Frankenheimer's

"Dead Bang"; Glenn Gordon Caron's "Clean and Sober"; and the adventure hit "Space Camp." He

also voiced the title character of the animated feature "Hercules."

On television, Donovan's other credits include a regular role on the hit FOX series "The O.C.," and

recurring or guest roles on such shows as "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "The Guardian,"

"Friends" and "Ally McBeal," among others.

Behind the camera, Donovan has also enjoyed success as a director, helming episodes of such series

as "Damages," "Glee," "Gossip Girl," "Weeds," "Nip/Tuck," "Medium" and "The O.C."

In 2011, Donovan starred on Broadway in the world premiere of David Lindsay-Abaire's play

"Good People," opposite Frances McDormand. He previously earned a Backstage West Garland

Award for his performance in the west coast debut of Lindsay-Abaire's "Rabbit Hole" at the Geffen

Theatre. Donovan's earlier repertoire includes the Broadway plays "Amy's View," with Dame Judi

Dench, and "Picnic," with Ashley Judd, as well as the long-running off-Broadway hit "Lobby He-

ro," by Kenneth Lonergan. Among his other theatre credits, he has appeared in a number of produc-

tions at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, including "Once in a Lifetime," "Under the Blue Sky"

and "The Glass Menagerie."

CLEA DuVALL (Cora Lijek) next stars in the independent action comedy "In Security," on which

she also serves as an executive producer, marking her first producing credit. This fall, she also joins

the cast of the award-winning FX series "American Horror Story."

Her recent film acting work also includes the fact-based drama "Conviction," with Hilary Swank

and Sam Rockwell; Jonathan Liebesman's "The Killing Room," which premiered at the 2009 Sun-

dance Film Festival; "Passengers," with Anne Hathaway and Patrick Wilson; and David Fincher's

true-life thriller "Zodiac."

DuVall first gained recognition in the independent feature "How to Make the Cruelest Month,"

which screened in competition at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. Later that year, she earned ac-

claim as the rebellious loner, Stokely, in Robert Rodriguez's "The Faculty." Her subsequent film

credits include "She's All That"; "The Astronaut's Wife"; "But I'm a Cheerleader"; the James Man-

gold-directed films "Girl, Interrupted" and "Identity"; John Carpenter's "Ghosts of Mars"; "Thirteen

Conversations About One Thing"; "The Slaughter Rule"; Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's "21

Grams"; and the horror hit "The Grudge."

On television, she was seen in the telefilm "Helter Skelter" and in the acclaimed HBO production of

"The Laramie Project." DuVall also starred on the HBO series "Carnivale," and had multi-episode

arcs on "Heroes" and, more recently, "The Event." Her other television credits include guest spots

on numerous series, including "CSI: Miami," "Law & Order," "Bones," "Private Practice,"

"Numb3rs," "Lie to Me" and "Grey's Anatomy."

SCOOT McNAIRY (Joe Stafford) is an actor and producer who has, in recent years, gained atten-

tion in both capacities.

He was a Best Actor nominee at the 2010 British Independent Film Awards for his performance in

the acclaimed film "Monsters," written and directed by Gareth Edwards. The year prior, "In Search



of a Midnight Kiss," which McNairy both starred in and produced, was honored with the John Cas-

savetes Award—presented for Best Feature Made for Under $500,000—at the Independent Spirit

Awards. The movie was written and directed by Alex Holdridge.

In addition to "Argo," McNairy will be seen this year in Gus Van Sant's "Promise Land," written by

and starring Matt Damon, and Andrew Dominik's "Killing Them Softly," with Brad Pitt, Ben Men-

delsohn, and James Gandolfini. His upcoming films also include Lynn Shelton's "Touchy Feely," in

which he stars opposite Ellen Page and Allison Janney, and Steve McQueen's "Twelve Years and

Slave," with Brad Pitt and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

McNairy's other film credits include Megan Griffith's "The Off Hours," starring Amy Seimetz, and

Terry Zwigoff's "Art School Confidential."

On television, he has made guest appearances on such shows as "Six Feet Under," "My Name is

Earl," "The Shield," "CSI," "How I Met Your Mother" and, in a recurring role, "Bones."

With John Pierce, McNairy formed The Group Films. Currently, the company is in post-production

on G.J. Echternkamp's "Frank and Cindy," inspired by the filmmaker's award-winning documentary

of the same name and starring Rene Russo and Michael Pena.

RORY COCHRANE (Lee Schatz) starred opposite Milla Jovovich in the 2011 comedy "Bringing

Up Bobby," directed by Famke Janssen. His other recent film credits include Mitch Glazer's "Pas-

sion Play," with Bill Murray and Mickey Rourke, and Michael Mann's "Public Enemies," in which

he co-starred with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale.

Cochrane previously co-starred with Robert Downey Jr. in Richard Linklater's "A Scanner Darkly."

Earlier in his career, Cochrane played the far-out stoner, Slater, in Linklater's "Dazed and Con-

fused." Among his other film credits are "Hart's War," with Bruce Willis; "The Prime Gig," with

Vince Vaughn; Joel Schumacher's "Flawless," with Philip Seymour Hoffman; and "Empire Rec-

ords," with Liv Tyler.

Cochrane is best known to television audiences for the role of Tim Speedle in "CSI: Miami," on

which he was a regular from 2002 through 2004. He later had a seven-episode arc, opposite Jon

Voight, on the hit show "24." His additional television credits include the award-winning TNT min-

iseries "The Company," on which he co-starred with Michael Keaton and Chris O'Donnell.

CHRISTOPHER DENHAM (Mark Lijek) stars in Barry Levinson's horror thriller "The Bay,"

which premiered at the 2012 Toronto Film Film Festival. He also starred in and co-produced the

indie thriller "Forgetting the Girl." His other film credits include "Sound of My Voice," Martin

Scorsese's "Shutter Island," Tony Gilroy's "Duplicity," Mike Nichols' "Charlie Wilson's War," and

Adam Rapp's "Blackbird." In 2008, Denham made his feature directorial and writing debut with

"Home Movie," starring Adrian Pasdar.

His television credits include episodes of "Person of Interest," "Rubicon," "Law & Order," "Law &

Order: Special Victims Unit" and the telefilm "Two Families."

On the stage, Denham made his Broadway debut in the 2003 revival of Athol Fugard's Pulitzer

Prize-winning play "'Master Harold'...and the Boys." He returned to Broadway in 2006 in Martin



McDonagh's "The Lieutenant of Inishmore." His off-Broadway credits include "Wintertime" and

Adam Rapp's "Red Light Winter," for which Denham won a Lucille Lortel Award for Best Lead

Actor. Denham's own first play, "Cagelove," played at the Rattlestick Playwright Theater under the

direction of Rapp.

KERRY BISHÉ (Kathy Stafford) appears this fall in Edward Burns' "The Fitzgerald Family

Christmas." She is currently shooting "Grand Piano" in Barcelona, in which she stars opposite Eli-

jah Wood and John Cusack under the direction of Eugenio Mira. Her other film credits include Ed-

ward Burns' "Newlyweds" and "Nice Guy Johnny"; Kevin Smith's "Red State"; "Turkey Bowl"; and

"The Understudy."

On television, she starred as Lucy Bennett on the 2010 season of the medical sitcom "Scrubs." She

was also seen in the telefilms "Iceland," directed by Will Gluck; "Virtuality," for director Peter

Berg; and "Nightlife," directed by Zach Braff.

Bishé studied at Northwestern University and began her career in the theatre. She performed the

title role in the one-woman play "My Name Is Rachel Corrie," directed by Alan Rickman. In 2007,

she made her Broadway debut in the revival of George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion," starring Claire

Danes and Jefferson Mays.



About the Filmmakers

BEN AFFLECK (Tony Mendez / Director / Producer) - See bio in About the Cast section.

CHRIS TERRIO (Screenwriter) makes his feature screenwriting debut with "Argo."

Terrio's current projects include his original screenplay "The Ends of the Earth," to be produced by

the Weinstein Company in 2013, and an American remake of Guillaume Canet's thriller "Tell No

One," based on the book by Harlan Coben.

GRANT HESLOV (Producer) has been recognized for his work as a producer, writer, director and

actor. Together with George Clooney, he is a principal partner in Smokehouse Pictures. The com-

pany is currently in production on the film version of Tracy Letts' award-winning play "August:

Osage County."

A three-time Academy Award® nominee, Heslov earned his latest Oscar® nod, in the category of

Best Adapted Screenplay, for the 2011 political drama "The Ides of March," directed by George

Clooney, who also starred with Ryan Gosling. In addition, Heslov received Golden Globe and

BAFTA Award nominations for the screenplay, as well as a Producers Guild of America (PGA)

Award nomination as one of the film's producers.

Heslov previously earned dual Oscar® nominations, for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay,

for Clooney's fact-based drama "Good Night, and Good Luck." For his work on the film, Heslov

also won a Writers Guild of America Award and the PGA's Stanley Kramer Award. Among the

film's numerous honors, Heslov also garnered two BAFTA Award nominations, for both Picture

and Original Screenplay; a Golden Globe nomination for Best Screenplay; an Independent Spirit

Award nomination for Best Feature; and a Screen Actors Guild Award® nomination as part of the

ensemble cast.

In 2009, Heslov made his major feature film directorial debut with "The Men Who Stare at Goats,"

starring Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey. He has also produced Clooney's

period football comedy "Leatherheads" and Anton Corbijn's thriller "The American."

For television, he recently served as an executive producer on the TNT series "Memphis Beat." Ad-

ditionally, he was an executive producer on the HBO series "Unscripted," for which he also directed

several episodes, and a co-executive producer on "K Street," also for HBO.

Heslov began his producing career as a co-producer on "Intolerable Cruelty," which marked his first

collaboration with Clooney. He is also known for his acting work in both films and on television.

GEORGE CLOONEY (Producer) is an Academy Award®-winning actor who has also been rec-

ognized with Oscar® nominations and numerous other honors for his work as a writer, director and

producer. In addition, he is highly regarded for his global humanitarian efforts on behalf of a num-

ber of important causes.

Earlier this year, he garnered two more Oscar® nominations, one for Best Actor for his role in Al-

exander Payne's "The Descendants," and another for Best Adapted Screenplay for his work on the



political drama "The Ides of March," which he also directed, produced, and starred in with Ryan

Gosling. For his performance in "The Descendants," Clooney also won a Golden Globe and several

critics groups' awards, and earned BAFTA Award and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award® nomi-

nations, all for Best Actor. For his work behind the camera on "The Ides of March," Clooney re-

ceived Golden Globe nominations, for Best Director and Best Screenplay, and both Producers Guild

of America (PGA) and Writers Guild of America (WGA) Award nominations.

In 2006, Clooney won an Oscar® for Best Supporting Actor for "Syriana" and that same year also

received Academy Award® nominations for Best Director and for Best Original Screenplay for

"Good Night, And Good Luck." It marked the first time in Academy history that an individual re-

ceived acting and directing nominations for two different films in the same year.

Clooney's work on "Good Night, and Good Luck." and "Syriana" also brought him numerous other

accolades. For the first, he earned Golden Globe, BAFTA Award and Critics' Choice Award nomi-

nations, for Best Director and Best Screenplay; nominations for both a Directors Guild of America

Award and a WGA Award; an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Director; and a

Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award® nomination for Best Ensemble, shared with the cast. The

Broadcast Film Critics Association also presented Clooney with its Freedom Award for "Good

Night, and Good Luck." In addition, he won a Golden Globe Award and earned BAFTA Award,

SAG Award® and Critics' Choice Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor for his role in

"Syriana."

Clooney has since earned two more Oscar® nominations in the category of Best Actor: for the title

role of the 2007 drama "Michael Clayton," on which he was also an executive producer; and for his

performance in Jason Reitman's 2009 hit "Up in the Air." He also received Golden Globe, BAFTA

Award and SAG Award® nominations for both films.

Clooney partnered with Grant Heslov to form Smokehouse Pictures, whose inaugural production

was the 2008 release "Leatherheads," which Clooney directed, co-wrote and starred in. Under their

Smokehouse banner, Clooney also starred in and produced 2009's "The Men Who Stare at Goats,"

marking Heslov's film directorial debut.

Clooney was previously partnered with Steven Soderbergh in the production company Section

Eight, which produced the "Ocean's" trilogy, directed by Soderberg and starring Clooney as part of

an all-star ensemble cast. Section Eight also produced the 2002 film "Confessions of a Dangerous

Mind," which marked Clooney's directorial debut, bringing him a Special Achievement in Film

Award from the National Board of Review. Other Section Eight films include the aforementioned

"Michael Clayton," "Syriana" and "Good Night, and Good Luck.," as well as "The Informant!,"

"The Good German," "Insomnia," "Far From Heaven," "The Jacket," "Full Frontal," and "Welcome

to Collinwood." For Section Eight's television division, Clooney executive produced and directed

five episodes of "Unscripted," a reality-based show that debuted on HBO in 2005. He was also an

executive producer on HBO's "K Street."

His other film acting credits include the Coen brothers' films "Burn After Reading," "O Brother,

Where Art Thou?," for which Clooney won his first Golden Globe Award, and "Intolerable Cruel-

ty"; Soderbergh's "Solaris" and "Out of Sight"; "The Perfect Storm"; "Three Kings"; "The Peace-

maker"; "Batman & Robin"; "One Fine Day"; and "From Dusk Till Dawn." He also lent his voice to

the title character in Wes Anderson's Oscar®-nominated animated feature "Fantastic Mr. Fox."

On the small screen, Clooney has starred in several television projects but is best known for his five



years on "ER." His portrayal of Dr. Doug Ross on the hit NBC drama series earned him Emmy,

Golden Globe and SAG Award® nominations. Additionally, he was an executive producer and star

of the Golden Globe winning 2000 live television broadcast of "Fail Safe," based on the 1962 novel

of the same name. More recently, he was Emmy-nominated for his producing work on the 2010 tel-

ethon "Hope for Haiti Now." He is also an executive producer on the Smokehouse series "Memphis

Beat."

DAVID KLAWANS (Executive Producer) has a knack for discovering obscure true stories with an

eye towards those that translate well to film. He produced the 2006 hit comedy "Nacho Libre," star-

ring Jack Black, which was inspired by a real story. He currently has a number of feature projects in

development, including the true crime thriller "Art of the Steal."

A graduate of NYU Film School, Klawans started out as a production coordinator and researcher.

He began his producing career after developing several non-fiction stories, which led to a first-look

deal at Sony Pictures. Klawans has also set up film projects with such talents as Will Smith and di-

rector Curtis Hanson.

In 2002, he produced the independent documentary "Togbe," the true story of an unemployed white

Dutchman who was found to be the reincarnated king of the West African nation of Ghana. It aired

on PBS and was shown at the United Nations.

In 2007, Klawans was named by LA Weekly as one of Los Angeles' most interesting people in their

annual Best of LA People issue.

He is currently producing Lucas High, a hip-hop tribute album to his late jazz musician step-father,

featuring Big Daddy Kane, Talib Kweli and The Pharcyde.

NINA WOLARSKY (Executive Producer) recently joined Netflix where she is part of the team

overseeing the company's slate of upcoming original series, including "House of Cards," "Arrested

Development," and "Orange is the New Black."

Previously, Wolarsky spent six years as Senior Vice President of George Clooney and Grant

Heslov's Smokehouse Pictures, where she oversaw the film company. During her tenure, Wolarsky

was responsible for bringing in and developing projects, including "Argo," as well as the Academy

Award®-nominated "The Ides of March," directed by Clooney, and the upcoming "Our Brand is

Crisis," also serving as an executive producer on the films.

Prior to Smokehouse, Wolarsky was Vice President of Development and Production at New York

based Hart-Sharp Entertainment where, among her credits, she served as co-executive producer on

the Academy Award®-nominated "Revolutionary Road," directed by Sam Mendes and starring Le-

onardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

Wolarsky is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and began her career as a book scout.

CHRIS BRIGHAM (Executive Producer) served as an executive producer on Christopher Nolan's

award-winning and thought-provoking drama "Inception," starring Leonardo DiCaprio. He also ex-

ecutive produced the Martin Scorsese-directed films "Shutter Island" and "The Aviator," both also



starring DiCaprio. Currently, he is serving as an executive producer on Darren Aronofsky's "Noah,"

starring Russell Crowe.

Brigham's other credits as an executive producer include "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Em-

peror," for director Rob Cohen; Robert De Niro's "The Good Shepherd," starring Matt Damon and

Angelina Jolie; Harold Ramis' hit comedies "Analyze This" and "Analyze That," both starring Rob-

ert De Niro and Billy Crystal; Kevin Reynolds' "The Count of Monte Cristo"; and Robert Redford's

"The Legend of Bagger Vance," starring Matt Damon and Will Smith.

In addition, Brigham co-produced Michael Apted's "Extreme Measures," starring Hugh Grant and

Gene Hackman. He also reunited with Barbet Schroeder to co-produce "Before and After," starring

Meryl Streep, having previously served as unit production manager on Schroeder's "Kiss of Death,"

starring Samuel L. Jackson and David Caruso.

Brigham's other credits as unit production manager include Fred Schepisi's "Six Degrees of Separa-

tion," starring Will Smith; Neil Jordan's "Interview with the Vampire," starring Brad Pitt and Tom

Cruise; and "Lorenzo's Oil," directed by George Miller and starring Nick Nolte and Susan Saran-

don.

CHAY CARTER (Executive Producer) is a producer with Pearl Street Films, the production com-

pany headed by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, which has a first-look deal at Warner Bros. Under

the Pearl Street banner, Carter will next be a producer on a feature film about infamous Boston

mobster Whitey Bulger, to be directed by Affleck, who will also star alongside Damon and Casey

Affleck. Her upcoming films also include the historical adventure "Race to the South Pole," about

the competition between explorers Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott to reach the southern

tip of the globe, with Casey Affleck starring as Scott; and "The Stand," a feature based on the Ste-

phen King novel.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Carter attended the University of Southern California before segue-

ing to Boston College, where she graduated with a BA in Communications and Psychology. Not

long after returning home, she began her entertainment career in corporate PR strategy for Walt

Disney Imagineering.

In 2001, Carter moved to LivePlanet, beginning her long association with Affleck, who formed the

production company with Matt Damon. While there, she worked on the publicity for various pro-

jects, most notably including "Project Greenlight."

The following year, Carter started working directly for Affleck. She made her producing debut as a

co-producer on Affleck's first directorial effort, the widely praised 2007 independent drama "Gone

Baby Gone," starring Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris. In 2010,

she served as a co-producer on the acclaimed drama "The Town," directed by Affleck, who also co-

wrote and starred in the film with Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm and Blake Lively.

GRAHAM KING (Executive Producer) is an Oscar®-winning producer, who has worked with

some of the industry's foremost talents on both major motion pictures and independent features. He

is also a partner in GK Films, the company he founded with Tim Headington in 2007.

In 2011, King served as a producer on four very diverse films. He received Best Picture Oscar® and



Golden Globe nominations as a producer on Martin Scorsese's acclaimed fantasy adventure "Hugo."

He also produced Gore Verbinski's animated comedy "Rango," featuring the voice of Johnny Depp

in the title role, which won an Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature. That same year, he

produced Angelina Jolie's feature directorial debut, "In the Land of Blood and Honey," which re-

ceived a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, and the independent drama

"The Rum Diary," starring Depp. Earlier this year, King was a producer on Tim Burton's gothic su-

pernatural thriller "Dark Shadows," starring Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green and Helena Bon-

ham Carter.

King previously won a Best Picture Oscar® as a producer on Scorsese's 2006 crime drama "The

Departed," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg. The

film won a total of four Academy Awards®, also including Best Director and Best Adapted Screen-

play.

He received his first Best Picture Academy Award® nomination, and won a BAFTA Award, for his

producing work on Scorsese's widely praised Howard Hughes biopic "The Aviator," starring Di-

Caprio. Additionally, he was honored by the Producers Guild of America (PGA) with a Golden

Laurel Award as Producer of the Year.

Upcoming, King is a producer on the screen version of the smash hit musical "Jersey Boys." Addi-

tionally, King has a number of other projects forthcoming that he will produce under the GK Films

banner, including an untitled Freddie Mercury project, and "Little White Corvette," to star Emma

Stone.

King's earlier producing credits also include the romantic thriller "The Tourist," pairing Johnny

Depp and Angelina Jolie; Ben Affleck's crime drama "The Town," starring Affleck and Jeremy

Renner; Martin Campbell's thriller "Edge of Darkness," starring Mel Gibson; the historical drama

"The Young Victoria," starring Emily Blunt; and the drama "Blood Diamond," starring DiCaprio. In

addition, he served as a co-executive producer on Scorsese's Oscar®-nominated epic drama "Gangs

of New York," starring DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis and Cameron Diaz.

King was previously the President and CEO of Initial Entertainment Group, which he founded in

1995. During King's tenure as President and CEO of Initial Entertainment Group, he served as an

executive producer on such films as Steven Soderbergh's Oscar®-winning ensemble drama "Traf-

fic"; Michael Mann's biographical drama "Ali," starring Will Smith in the title role; and "The Dan-

gerous Lives of Altar Boys," produced by and starring Jodie Foster. King went on to executive pro-

duce the television miniseries "Traffic," for which he received an Emmy Award nomination for

Outstanding Miniseries.

A native of the United Kingdom, King moved to the United States in 1982 and was awarded an Or-

der of the British Empire (OBE) in 2009.

TIM HEADINGTON (Executive Producer) was a producer on Martin Scorsese's acclaimed 2011

fantasy adventure "Hugo." Among the film's many honors, it received 11 Academy Award® nomi-

nations, including Best Picture, as well as a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture –

Drama.

Also in 2011, he produced Angelina Jolie's feature directorial debut, "In the Land of Blood and

Honey," which was Golden Globe nominated for Best Foreign Language Film; and "The Rum Dia-



ry," starring Johnny Depp and produced with Depp's company, infinitum nihil. Headington also

served as an executive producer on Gore Verbinksi's "Rango," featuring the voice of Depp, which

won an Oscar® and a BAFTA Award for Best Animated Feature, as well as numerous critics

awards.

He was previously a producer on the action thriller "The Tourist," starring Depp and Jolie, which

garnered three Golden Globe nominations, including Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Motion Pic-

ture – Musical or Comedy.

Headington more recently served as an executive producer on Tim Burton's gothic supernatural

thriller "Dark Shadows," with an ensemble cast led by Depp. Presently, he is producing the screen

version of the hit musical "Jersey Boys." Under the GK Films banner, he also has a wide range of

projects in various stages of development.

Headington formed the Los Angeles-based production company GK Films, together with longtime

friend and colleague Graham King, in 2007. Their previous productions include "Edge of Dark-

ness," starring Mel Gibson, and the three-time Academy Award®-nominated romantic drama "The

Young Victoria." The company has a broad development slate of projects, which Headington will

produce.

He and King are partners in two other subsidiaries of GK Films: GK-TV and FilmDistrict. GK-TV,

their television division, produced the miniseries "Camelot" and is developing the drama series

"Port Royal." FilmDistrict is a multi-faceted studio that encompasses acquisitions, distribution, pro-

duction and financing on wide release commercial pictures. The company plans to theatrically dis-

tribute several films per year.

In addition, Headington is President and sole shareholder of Headington Resources, Inc., a Dallas-

headquartered company concentrated primarily in oil and natural gas, real estate/hotel development,

film production, private equity and entertainment.

ANTONIO J. (TONY) MENDEZ (Author) is a retired CIA officer, an author and an award-

winning painter with an international reputation. He lives and works on his forty-acre farm in rural

Maryland.

Born in Nevada, Mendez was recruited in 1965 by the CIA's Technical Services Division. For 25

years, he worked undercover, often overseas, participating in some of the most important covert op-

erations of the Cold War. To his friends he was a quiet bureaucrat working for the U.S. military. To

the CIA he was their master of disguise. From adventures in East Asia to Cold War intrigue in

Moscow, he was there.

Over the course of his career, Mendez moved up into the CIA's executive rank. He and his subordi-

nates were responsible for changing the identity and appearance of thousands of clandestine opera-

tives, allowing them to move securely around the world.

In January 1980, he was awarded the Intelligence Star for Valor for engineering and conducting the

rescue of six U.S. diplomats from Iran during the hostage crisis, which, more than 30 years later,

became the basis for the film "Argo." This rescue operation involved creating an ostensible Holly-

wood film production company, complete with personnel, scripts, publicity and real estate in L.A.



When Mendez retired in November 1990, he had earned the CIA's Intelligence Medal of Merit and

two Certificates of Distinction. Seven years later, on the 50th anniversary of the CIA, he was one of

50 officers—from the tens of thousands who had worked at the Agency over those first five dec-

ades—chosen to receive the Trailblazer Medallion. This honor recognized him as an "officer who

by his actions, example, or initiative...helped shape the history of the CIA."

Mendez's first book, The Master of Disguise, was published in November 1999. His second book,

entitled Spy Dust, written with his wife, Jonna, came out in September 2002. He most recently

wrote, with Matt Baglio, a complete retelling of the operation depicted in the film "Argo," ARGO:

How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled off the Most Audacious Rescue in History, which was just pub-

lished.

Mendez continues to paint and lecture, as well as serve as a consultant to the U.S. Intelligence

community. He has published articles in their journals and he and his wife are founding board

members of the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC.

At the 60th Anniversary of the CIA's Office of Technical Service, General David Petraeus, now Di-

rector of the Central Intelligence Agency, called Mendez out as one of three OTS officers who had

made a difference in how the CIA did its work.

JOSHUAH BEARMAN ("Based on" Writer) is a magazine writer in Los Angeles. He writes for

Rolling Stone, Wired, The New York Times Magazine, Harper's, and McSweeney's, and is a regular

contributor to This American Life. He is a former staff writer and editor for LA Weekly.

In addition to his Wired Magazine article "The Great Escape," several of Bearman's articles and ra-

dio stories have been optioned for film and television. He was a contributing producer on the 2007

documentary "The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters."

Bearman is also a board member of 826LA, a non-profit tutoring center in Los Angeles.

RODRIGO PRIETO (Director of Photography) earned Academy Award® and BAFTA Award

nominations for his sweeping cinematography in Ang Lee's groundbreaking 2005 film "Brokeback

Mountain," for which he also won several critics groups' awards. He reunited with Lee in 2007 on

"Lust, Caution," for which Prieto received an Independent Spirit Award nomination and won a Ven-

ice Film Festival Award for Best Cinematography.

Prieto is currently lensing "The Wolf of Wall Street" for director Martin Scorsese. His recent film

credits also include Cameron Crowe's "We Bought a Zoo," Francis Lawrence's "Water for Ele-

phants," Oliver Stone's "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps," and Alejandro González Iñárritu's "Biu-

tiful," for which Prieto won Mexico's Silver Ariel Award.

Prieto began his career in his native Mexico, where he won his first Silver Ariel Award for his work

on David Gruener's "Sobrenatural." He gained international recognition for his cinematography on

the 2000 film "Amores Perros," which marked his first collaboration with Iñárritu and for which

Prieto won another Silver Ariel Award, as well as a Golden Frog at the Camerimage International

Film Festival.

He has since teamed with Iñárritu on "21 Grams" and "Babel," earning another BAFTA Award



nomination for the latter. Prieto's collaborations with other directors include Julie Taymor's "Frida,"

Curtis Hanson's "8 Mile," Spike Lee's "25th Hour," Oliver Stone's "Alexander," Pedro Almodovar's

"Broken Embraces," and Kevin Macdonald's "State of Play."

SHARON SEYMOUR (Production Designer) worked with Ben Affleck as the production designer

on his directorial debut feature, "Gone Baby Gone." She reunited with the director to design his

2010 hit drama "The Town," for which she received an Art Directors Guild Award nomination.

Seymour more recently served as the production designer on the political drama "The Ides of

March," directed by and starring George Clooney.

Seymour's recent film credits also include "Love Happens," starring Jennifer Aniston and Aaron

Eckhart, and "The Men Who Stare at Goats," starring Clooney.

She has also served as the production designer on such movies as "Because I Said So," "Friday

Night Lights," "Bad Santa," "The Rules of Attraction," "40 Days and 40 Nights," "Novocaine,"

"Duets," "The Cable Guy," "The Truth About Cats & Dogs," "Don Juan DeMarco," and "Reality

Bites."

Earlier in her career, Seymour worked as the art director on a number of films, including "Pacific

Heights," "Heart of Dixie" and "Johnny Be Good."

WILLIAM GOLDENBERG (Editor) has earned two Academy Award® nominations, for his edit-

ing work on two true-life dramas, Gary Ross's "Seabiscuit" and Michael Mann's "The Insider."

He is currently editing Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty," a thriller about the hunt for Osama

bin Laden. He also recently served as editor on the Michael Bay-directed blockbuster "Transform-

ers: Dark of the Moon."

Goldenberg previously worked with Ben Affleck on the director's debut film, "Gone Baby Gone."

His additional film credits include Jon Turteltaub's "National Treasure," "National Treasure: Book

of Secrets" and "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"; the Michael Mann-directed features "Heat," "Ali" and

"Miami Vice"; Tony Scott's "Domino"; Dave McNally's "Coyote Ugly"; Gary Ross's "Pleas-

antville"; and Frank Marshall's "Alive." In addition, Goldenberg edited Sean Astin's Oscar®-

nominated short, "Kangaroo Court."

For television, Goldenberg earned an Emmy nomination for Best Editing for a Miniseries or Special

for the HBO movie "Citizen X." He received a second Emmy nomination for Outstanding Multi-

Camera Editing for the 74th Annual Academy Awards. His television credits also include the HBO

movie "Body Language" and the pilot for the FX series "Over There."

JACQUELINE WEST (Costume Designer), a two-time Academy Award® nominee, received her

latest Oscar® nod, as well as a BAFTA Award nomination, for Best Costume Design for her work

on David Fincher's acclaimed drama "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." In 2010, she reunited

with Fincher on his award-winning fact-based drama "The Social Network." She more recently de-

signed the costumes for Francis Lawrence's "Water for Elephants," and the Terrence Malick-

directed films "The Tree of Life" and "To the Wonder." West has since worked again with Malick

on the upcoming "Knight of Cups," and also served as the costume designer on Sergey Bodrov's



"The Seventh Son," due out in Fall 2013.

West earned her first Oscar® and BAFTA Award nominations for her period costume designs for

Philip Kaufman's 2000 biopic about the Marquis de Sade, "Quills." She had made her first foray

into films as a creative consultant on Kaufman's "Henry & June," and then made her debut as a cos-

tume designer on the director's "Rising Sun."

Her other early credits include "The Banger Sisters," "Leo," and "The League of Extraordinary

Gentleman." She has since worked on "The New World," marking her first collaboration with Ter-

rence Malick; "Down in the Valley"; "Lonely Hearts"; "The Invasion"; and Kevin Macdonald's

"State of Play."

From 1988 to 1997, West ran her own clothing company and designed a nationally known line of

clothes. She also owned retail stores and had a contemporary department in Barney's New York and

Japan.

ALEXANDRE DESPLAT (Composer) is a four-time Academy Award® nominee, who has creat-

ed the music for a wide range of films. He received his most recent Oscar® nod for his score for the

Best Picture winner "The King's Speech," for which he also won a BAFTA Award and earned a

Golden Globe nomination. He previously garnered Oscar® and BAFTA Award nominations for his

score for the animated "Fantastic Mr. Fox"; Oscar®, Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nomina-

tions for David Fincher's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; and Oscar® and BAFTA Award

nominations for Stephen Frears' "The Queen."

In addition, Desplat won a Golden Globe Award for John Curran's "The Painted Veil," and also re-

ceived Golden Globe nominations for his scores for Stephen Gaghan's "Syriana" and Peter Web-

ber's "Girl with a Pearl Earring." In his native France, Desplat won the César Award for his score

for "The Beat That My Heart Skipped," which also earned him a Silver Bear from the 2005 Berlin

Film Festival. He received his latest César Award nomination for his score for Roman Polanski's

"The Ghost Rider." Desplat has earned four more César Award nominations, including one for the

Oscar®-nominated 2009 French film "A Prophet."

Desplat more recently created the scores for the critically acclaimed features "The Tree of Life,"

directed by Terrence Malick; George Clooney's "The Ides of March"; "Carnage," which reunited

him with Roman Polanski; Stephen Daldry's "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"; Wes Ander-

son's "Moonrise Kingdom"; and the French film "Rust and Bone." He also composed the scores for

the two-film finale of the Harry Potter film franchise, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Parts

1 and 2."

His other film work includes "Tamara Drewe"; the Chris Weitz-directed films "A Better Life," "The

Twilight Saga: New Moon" and "The Golden Compass"; Nora Ephron's "Julie & Julia"; and Ang

Lee's "Lust, Caution."

Desplat's music will next be heard in the animated feature "Rise of the Guardians," due out in No-

vember 2012. He is also scoring Kathryn Bigelow's fact-based thriller "Zero Dark Thirty," about the

hunt for Osama bin Laden.

argo movie production notes

Documents

osama bin

starring mel

gus van sant

golden globe

golden globe

silver ariel

gothic supernatural

iranian revolution