Ben Affleck Talks ARGO and Middle East Connection
- Details
- Category: Interviews
- Created: Thursday, 11 October 2012 08:12
- Published: Thursday, 11 October 2012 08:12
- Written by Lupe Haas
During a recent press conference with Ben Affleck, his ARGO co-stars, writer, and George Clooney’s producing partner Grant Heslov, the actor and producer revealed there was some initial concern when the events in the Middle East boiled over. Although ARGO is based on the late 70s Iranian Revolution when the U.S. Embassy in Iran was overrun by militants, and Americans were taken hostage, the subject matter seems all too current.
While Hollywood often gets the blame for glamorizing violence, movie studios have often responded to real-life tragedies by avoiding any similarities on screen. Given the recent tragedy at a Colorado movie theater during The Dark Knight Rises showing, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone’s Gangster Squad was postponed in order to reshoot a scene involving a movie theater massacre. After 9/11, Hollywood films such as Spider-Man, Spy Game (Brad Pitt), Zoolander (Ben Stiller), and Arnold Schwarzenegger's Collateral Damage were re-edited or delayed to avoid any references to the Twin Towers or terrorist attacks.
When watching the openings scenes in ARGO, you can’t help but think of the September 11 assault on the United States Embassy in Benghazi and the protests in the Middle East. While the scene is a recreation of the actual storming of the United States Embassy during the Iranian revolution in 1979 and no one died, the on-screen action brings you out of your escapist mode back to the ugly reality of recent events. Watch Trailer
When asked if the Middle East turmoil caused concern for the critically acclaimed thriller, ARGO producer Grant Heslov admitted it was something they discussed, but given the film’s release less than four weeks away, there was not much that can be done. “It was definitely too late,” he told CineMovie.
Ben Affleck, on the other hand, isn’t overly concerned about those scenes in question or the movie in relation to the news, although he admits to one major concern early on.
“We went to great pains to try to make it very factual, fact based, knowing that it's coming out during an election of the United States when a lot of things get politicized.”
Affleck added they were “judicious and careful” with the presentation of facts, and they “stand firmly” behind what is presented on screen. He, of course, didn’t realize then or could have predicted the “terrible things” abroad, even when they were shooting the movie in Turkey. However, he strongly urges that the subject not be ignored or edited out merely to avoid comparisons.
“… this is an examination of this part of the world, and just because this world is undergoing strife and tumult doesn't mean you stop examining it, or you stop looking at it, or talking about it. That would be a bad thing.”Luckily, the focus on ARGO is not about the concern over the Middle East, but the Oscar buzz surrounding Ben Affleck’s third directorial effort. ARGO opens in movie theaters October 12, 2012.