Still image from the 2012 movie 'Argo', representing the screenplay.
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Argo (2012) Screenplay

"Argo" — Educator Resources & Study Guide

Based on true events… and unmistakably Hollywood.

Teach students how a screenplay can honor sources while crafting tension. Use Argo to explore attribution (Mendez’s memoir; Bearman’s WIRED feature), compression and invention (the night-before cancellation), and the ethics of framing national narratives.

Educator Resources

Argo (2012) — Classroom Study

Screenplay: Chris Terrio Final Draft: Oct 30, 2012 Grade Focus: Secondary/Postsecondary · Film/Media/English

Based on true events vs. Hollywood: Terrio credits Tony Mendez’s memoir (Ch. 9) and Joshuah Bearman’s WIRED feature as sources. The film, however, compresses timelines and invents obstacles (e.g., the night-before cancellation) to build a thriller’s third-act tension. This module helps students separate historical basis from dramatic license.

  • Sources & attribution: Mendez’s memoir + WIRED article inform the mission facts.
  • Dramatic license: last-minute “mission canceled” beat vs. real-world lead time.
  • Airport climax: cinematic chase/phone checks vs. a quieter historical departure.
  • The “fake movie”: real Lord of Light materials; authorship/credit questions.
  • National narratives: U.S./CIA emphasis vs. Canada’s role—how films shape memory.

Quick caveat: Even with solid sources, choices about framing can tilt the story. Argo’s released cut adds a brief Iran-history prologue (including 1953) that reshapes how audiences read the stakes. When you take similar liberties, note what’s history and what’s storytelling. For transparent models, see the scripts for I, Tonya (2017) and American Animals (2018).

Argo (2012) theatrical poster

"Argo" One Sheet & Script Intel

Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979. Warner Bros.
Type ...
FYC
Version ... FinalFYC
Date ... 10.30.2012
Pages ... 122
Genres ... Bio Drama History
Screenplay ... Chris Terrio
IMDb ID ... 1024648

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