What was argo shot on

The takeover of the U. Embassy in Tehran is dramatically recreated at the beginning of Argo. Instead of using the actual embassy which still stands today , the Argo crew filmed the sequence at the Veterans Affairs Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center. Located in the North Hills area of the San Fernando Valley, the mostly-vacant facility is currently undergoing restoration and is used often as a film location.

It was a huge stroke of luck. The historic and affluent neighborhood of Hancock Park is located in the eastern portion of the original Rancho La Brea area, north of Wilshire Boulevard and south of Melrose Avenue. Hancock Park's palatial, two-story residences were designed in various Period Revival styles for the elite of Los Angeles society, and are frequently used as film locations. The building was designed by Gordon B. Kaufmann, the architect best known for his work on the Hoover Dam.

The foot high murals in the Globe Lobby were painted by Hugo Ballin, who also painted the Griffith Observatory rotunda. After Mendez comes up with a daring plan to rescue the six Americans, he flies out to Los Angeles to meet with famed Hollywood makeup artist John Chambers, played by John Goodman. Chambers received a special Academy Award for his work on the Planet of the Apes movies.

At the Smoke House Restaurant in Burbank, Chambers advises Mendez on how to produce the fake movie that serves as cover for the rescue operation. Thanks to its proximity to world famous Warner Bros. The CIA had given them false departure documents for which, of course, there were no matching arrival forms.

The big climax is a heart-pounding chase down the runway as gun-toting members of the Revolutionary Guard try to stop them taking off. It's why we turned up for a flight at 5. We got on the flight to Zurich and then we were taken to the US ambassador's residence in Berne. It was that straightforward. The six were meant to live in Florida under assumed names until the release of other embassy personnel held hostage in Tehran, which came in January But the plan was dropped when reports of the escape appeared in newspapers.

The agency didn't admit its role until Mark says it came as a relief when he could finally talk openly about the events in Iran. He's a fan of Argo and takes a wryly amused view of how it burnishes the truth to dramatic effect. Of course, Mark is wise to the ways of film-makers. Back in the s, he was briefly in movies himself. Success for Argo at Golden Globes.

The Turkish government was so impressed that it decided not to replace them afterward. He used that familiarity to let them improvise. But the location posed challenges for Prieto. However, the lighting was tricky because I had to make it look good in any direction and have it still be realistic.

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