Principal photography on Ben Affleck‘s third directorial piece Argo, a 1970s-set political thriller, which focuses on a CIA agent trying to extract six Americans trapped in Iran at the height of the Iranian revolution, began this week and Celebuzz has the first set photos.
Affleck’s first two directorial efforts, Gone Baby Gone and The Town, received wide success and no doubt Argo will do the same. It looks awfully promising and is quickly climbing to the top of my most anticipated list.
The official synopsis for the film was also released:
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.
Argo, which is already picking up awards buzz (not bad after a week of filming), stars Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Scoot McNairy, John Goodman, Alan Arkin and Kyle Chandler and is due for release in 2012.