After circling a number of projects following the box office and critical success of last year’s The Town, Ben Affleck may have found his next directorial outing.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Affleck is in early talks to direct a political thriller called Argo for producer’s George Clooney and Grant Heslov. An adaptation of a Wired magazine article, the story is based on a real-life 1979 rescue effort by the CIA and the Canadian government to remove six U.S. diplomats during the occupation of the American embassy by Iranians
If this sounds like a traditional Hollywood action-type feature, think again, as the method of extraction was very intriguing indeed. The CIA used a disguise expert and created a false scenario that involved the six being a Hollywood crew scouting a movie titled Argo. Under those disguises, they were able to flee the country.
This inventive and offbeat premise must have played large in engaging Affleck’s interest in the material. Let’s hope he signs on the dotted line!
