Argo, directed by Ben Affleck, depicts CU alum Tony Mendez’s (Art ex’54) suspenseful CIA mission during the Iran hostage crisis. The movie won Best Picture at both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards this year.  Mendez, the real-life CIA operative played by Affleck in Argo, attended CU-Boulder for several semesters in the ’50s before being recruited by the CIA. In 1979, Mendez was responsible for the escape of six Americans from Iran in the midst of the hostage crisis. With the help of Canadian officials and friends in Hollywood, Mendez supplied the six Americans with fake passports and  disguised them as Canadian filmmakers to get past Iranian guards at the airport. 

Read more about Mendez’s life from CU to the CIA in the March issue of the Coloradan, which will be available in a couple of weeks! 

Read Ben Affleck’s Oscar acceptance speech. 

ARGO – NOW AVAILABLE ON DVD & BLU-RAY & ULTRAVIOLET FROM WARNER HOME ENTERTAINMENT