Warner Bros. showcased one of its
biggest fall films, the feel-good thriller “Argo,” during the Toronto
International Film Festival’s opening days, proving an across-the-board hit
with audiences.
“Argo,”
actor-director Ben Affleck’s take on a CIA mission to rescue six Americans from
the 1979 Iran hostage crisis under the guise of a movie shoot, generated a
standing ovation Friday night, Sept. 7 from the audience at Roy Thomson Hall.
On hand were Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber, Bryan Cranston and Tate
Donovan, plus Affleck’s wife Jennifer Garner and sometime collaborator Matt
Damon.
“Argo”
premiered, aptly, on the same day the Canadian government closed its embassy in
Tehran. The film depicts a little known incident wherein the CIA and the
Canadian embassy helped six Americans escape Tehran during the Iranian hostage
crisis.
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.
Academy
Award® winner Ben Affleck (“The Town,” “Good Will Hunting”) directs and stars
in the film, which is being produced by Academy Award® winner George Clooney
(“Syriana”), Oscar® nominee Grant Heslov (“Good Night, and Good Luck.”) and
Affleck.
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.
“Argo”
also stars Oscar® winner Alan Arkin (“Little Miss Sunshine”), Bryan Cranston
(TV’s “Breaking Bad”) and John Goodman (“You Don’t Know Jack”). The main cast
also includes Kerry Bishé, Kyle Chandler, Rory Cochrane, Christopher Denham,
Tate Donovan, Clea DuVall, Victor Garber, Zeljko Ivanek, Richard Kind, Scoot
McNairy, Chris Messina, Michael Parks, and Taylor Schilling.
Affleck
is directing the film from a screenplay by Chris Terrio, based on a selection
from Master in Disguise by Antonio Mendez. David Klawans, Chris Brigham, Graham
King, Tim Headington, Chay Carter and Nina Wolarsky are serving as executive
producers.
(Opening
across the Philippines this October, “Argo” is distributed worldwide by Warner
Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.)
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