Q&A With Argo's Ben Affleck

Fresh off the Oscar win for Best Picture, "Argo" director Ben Affleck settles in for a Q&A with DustyOnMovies. A big shout out to Ben for donating his time.

DustyOnMovies

Congratulations on all your wins this Awards season. When did you first have the idea to make a film about this historical event?

Ben Affleck

Honestly I had never heard of the mission. It was brought to my attention one day when I sat down on my remote control and the channel accidentally switched to PBS. I changed it back as quick as possible but not before I had the idea to make the film.

DOM

How much personal effort did you put into research for the film?

Affleck

I called a Poli-Sci professor at a nearby community college and invited him to lunch. He told me everything he knew about the incident and I jotted it down as accurately as possible on the back of a Denny's napkin.

DOM

Were you concerned about playing a character of Mexican decent?

Affleck

Tony Mendez? Where'd you hear that?

DOM

It seems obvious by the name, but I looked it up to be sure.

Affleck

Honestly, I had written something down next to his name, but it smeared due to a splash of grease from my Grand Slam breakfast combo.

DOM

How do you respond to the backlash over implying that the British were unwilling to help the American diplomats in Iran?

Affleck

Just to cross all my "T's" I went straight to the source on this one. The president of Britain, Stephen Fry, assured me that Argo's account of the British betrayal was factually accurate.

DOM

The film depicts several close calls in which our protagonists nearly have their cover blown. Historical accounts seem to show a much smoother operation. Was this a deliberate embellishment to add drama?

Affleck

Before Daniel Craig was hired to play James Bond I had been asked to audition. Not only did I have a great audition, but I showed up with scripts for a planned trilogy that would have highlighted my strongest attributes as Bond. Daniel Craig won the role when I refused to grant sexual favors to the producers. Much of Argo's script was copy n' pasted from the unused Bond scripts. There's no reason to let genius go to waste.

DOM

Argo is a critical and commercial success. You've won numerous directing awards and the film now has the coveted Best Picture Oscar. What else is left to do?

Affleck

A sequel was greenlighted just last month. 

DOM

Will Tony Mendez be back?

Affleck

No, I'll be playing Nagamichu Tamagotchi, a Japanese nuclear scientist working for Iran to build an atomic bomb. Danny DeVito will be co-starring as Barack Obama. Catch it in 2014 "Argo 2: This Time We're Fucked"

Of course it's all made up. Get a sense of humor.