Where to watch Argo (2012)

Trivia & production notes

• The screenplay was based on a 2007 Wired article by Joshuah Bearman titled "How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran."
• Ben Affleck drew inspiration from multiple films including All the President's Men, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, and The Battle of Algiers.
• The CIA allowed the production to film the scene of Mendez entering CIA headquarters at their original Virginia building, while all other CIA scenes were shot in the basement of the Los Angeles Times Building.
• The film used The Rolling Stones' "Little T A" on its soundtrack despite it being an anachronism, as the song wasn't released until 1973.
• Warner Bros. used its 1972-1984 production logo designed by Saul Bass to open the film and painted The Burbank Studios logo on its water tower to match the era.
• The fake screenplay that served as the CIA's cover story was adapted from Roger Zelazny's 1967 novel Lord of Light, which was originally titled Argo before an earlier film production attempt failed.
• The phony Hollywood production office Studio Six created by the CIA for the rescue operation was so convincing that it continued receiving scripts weeks after the rescue was complete, including one from Steven Spielberg.
• The CIA's public relations arm was involved in the production of Argo, according to research by Vice based on Freedom of Information Act documents released in April 2016.
• Alan Arkin was the first cast member to join the film, announced in June 2011.
• Filming took place across multiple locations including Los Angeles, McLean Virginia, Washington D.C., and Istanbul.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Argo (2012 film), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Rewritten for StreamShack; errors are ours — tell us about them.