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A beloved Steven Spielberg movie might have never come to be had it been used by the CIA team who orchestrated the ‘Argo‘ cover story during the Canadian Caper rescue mission. You may recognize the name from Ben Affleck’s eponymous 2012 historical drama thriller, which was based on the 1979–1981 Iran hostage crisis and how putting together a bogus movie studio helped the rescue of six U.S. embassy personnel from Tehran, Iran.
Led by C.I.A. operative Tony Mendez, the extraction operation involved the group posing as a Canadian crew on a sci-fi film production.
Related:Tom Cruise Declined a Steven Spielberg Superhero Movie
Given Iran’s tightened security, the backstory had to be unbreakable. Merely creating a fake flick wouldn’t be sufficient; the surrounding details had to reflect the actual components of a movie production. To stage the never-to-be-made film, the CIA established a fictitious film company. Mendez also recruited the assistance of seasoned Hollywood makeup artist John Chambers.
Then, they set up a functioning office at Sunset Gower Studios and named it ‘Studio Six Productions.’ Other strategies were also employed to sell the act: the movie’s advertising and the workings of the phony studio would make it seem too real.
Eventually, one of the scripts to come their way would be from none other than Spielberg. And the movie in question is presumed to beE.T.!
How Steven Spielberg’s Script Was Submitted To The Faux Film Company Set Up By The CIA
As mentioned, the act had to be well-constructed. Tony Mendez, an expert in exfiltration, came up with the plan to disguise himself as an Irish filmmaker (via theIndependent) and the six American diplomats (sheltered by Canada’s ambassador to Iran, Ken Taylor, and embassy official, John Sheardown) as part of a Canadian crew scouting locations for a Hollywood production.
The faux sci-fi film on which the entire premise would rely was‘Argo’(hence, the name of the 2012 Ben Affleck endeavor).
A sham production company (Studio Six Productions) was also opened in Los Angeles. To cement the plan and better sell the idea, leaving no room for any doubts from Iranian authorities, dummy business cards were printed, the backstories and alternative identities of the six escapees were developed, and even telephone calls to the fictitious office would be answered (in case anyone called).
Related:Steven Spielberg Hired Quentin Tarantino for His Life’s Weirdest Role
The‘Argo‘ script also featured a planet emulating a Middle Eastern setting. This could give the group’s cover as location scouts credibility. Furthermore, as part of publicity, ads for the film were placed in notable magazine publications, includingVarietyandthe Hollywood Reporter.According toIndieWire, even a table read was hosted.
Ensuring such details were established helped make the plan convincing. And it worked magnificently.
According to Tony Mendez’s own account (viaCIA), the façade was so persuasive that legitimate agents and producers sent their screenplays to the Studio Six office. And well, what do you know, one of those scripts belonged to acclaimed Hollywood visionarySteven Spielberg!
Could The Script Have Been ForE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial?
Among the most beloved Steven Spielberg initiatives materialized for the consumption of eager movie-goers,E.T. the Extra-Terrestrialmomentarily became the highest-grossing film of all time around its release. The record was later eclipsed by another classic from the director,Jurassic Park.
The 1982 sci-fi is arguably one of the most renowned projects in Spielberg’s filmography and has become intrinsic to film history.
Now, whether or notE.T.was the script that made its way to the faux production office set up by the team behind the Canadian Caper cannot be confirmed. However, if we were to examine the timeline of events, that’s the facile conclusion one can reach and have it make sense.
First, let us take a look at the statement CIA officer Tony Mendez made confirming Steven Spielberg’s connection to the Studio Six production company:
“An ironic coda: by the time Studio Six folded several weeks after the rescue, we had received 26 scripts, including some potential moneymakers. One was from Steven Spielberg.”
Related:Steven Spielberg Claimed He Was “Fated” To Make ‘Temple of Doom’
It might make sense forE.T.to be the project in question, considering that the events surrounding the Canadian Caper / the ‘Argo‘ cover-up mission occurred between 1979 and 1980, and the film began production in 1981.
One can only wonder whether the CIA team would have usedE.T.’s screenplay for the cover-up if there had been a difference in the timing, scenario, and execution of the covert operation and the script submission.
If that actually happened, Spielberg’s well-venerated movie might have never seen its making—never come to be.
Nevertheless, the script being sent weeks after the mission’s completion when the faux company shut down permanently suggests such a situation would’ve never transpired, even with a possibility for it. Plus, it’s unclear if the screenplay was forE.T.or another project to which the director was connected through writing credits (re:Poltergeist, 1982).
But it’s also mind-blowing trivia, so we can’t really feign nonchalance.
The intermingling of Hollywood with a historical event via a rescue plan that can only be deemed wild shows how reality can sometimes appear more unbelievable than fiction.
Debdipta Bhattacharya
Articles Published :659
Debdipta Bhattacharya is a content writer at FandomWire, where she has written more than 500 articles on various topics of interest. She possesses a sincere passion for popular culture, anime, film production, and the evolving world of YouTube and streaming culture which has allowed her to be a devoted and well-informed writer. Debdipta holds a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication. She has honed her skills and expertise in content writing with over two years of experience and strives to learn and grow daily.
