Iran to sue Hollywood for fear-mongering with 'Argo'
| Washington
Iran announced today that it will sue Hollywood for creating films the Islamic Republic alleges intentionally 鈥減ropagate fear of Iran throughout the world,鈥� according to state media reports.听
Citing director Ben Affleck鈥檚 Oscar-winning film 鈥淎rgo鈥� as 鈥渢he most recent example of various fear-mongering tactics鈥� used by Hollywood, the semi-official Fars News Agency said聽French lawyer Isabelle Coutant-Peyre, widely known for defending Venezuelan-born terrorist聽Ilich Ram铆rez S谩nchez (鈥淐arlos the Jackal鈥�), is in Tehran for talks with Iranian government officials to determine where and how a lawsuit should be filed.听
鈥淭hese people [in Hollywood] are using films to propagate global panic about Iran,鈥澛�. 聽鈥淭he act [of the lawsuit] itself is valuable,鈥� , 鈥渂ecause it can stir interest and discussion among the peoples of the world, until they can discern between what is the truth and what are lies about Iran, and think about them.听 The dialogue created by Hollywood [about Iran] can鈥檛 be one-sided."
It is unclear who will specifically be named in Iran's lawsuit. 聽Ms. Coutant-Peyre said she has prepared a case and will provide more details at a press conference Wednesday, Fars reports.
鈥�Argo鈥� was privately screened in downtown Tehran on Monday as part of a state-organized conference on 鈥淗ollywood Deceit," according to state media reports.听
Based聽on a true story about how the CIA, with the help of Canadian officials, smuggled six American diplomats out of Iran after the 1979 takeover of the US Embassy, 鈥淎rgo鈥� was first screened at the Toronto Film Festival on Sept. 7, the same day Canada closed its embassy in Tehran and expelled Iran鈥檚 diplomats from the Canadian capital, Ottawa.听
鈥淧erhaps it was a coincidence,鈥澛犅爁or the Tehran-based聽Moviemag聽website in September. 鈥淏ut for [the embassy closure] to take place during the Toronto Film Festival, right when this film was being screened, somewhat undermines the theory that this happened by accident.鈥澛�
鈥淎rgo鈥� went on to win three Academy Awards at this year's Oscars ceremony, including the top prize for Best Picture, which was presented via live telecast by First Lady Michelle Obama. 聽
Pirated copies of Hollywood films, including 鈥淎rgo,鈥� are widely available to the Iranian public. They can typically purchase films even before their formal debut in US theaters. Since the film鈥檚 release, Iranian state media reports have dismissed the film as anti-Iranian and anti-Islamic 鈥減ropaganda.鈥澛�
Private movie critics inside Iran, while acknowledging Ben Affleck鈥檚 sophisticated directorial skills, have decried some of the film鈥檚 historical inaccuracies and claimed the film portrays Iranians as stereotypically backward and violent.听
This is not the first time Iranian officials have complained about the portrayal of Iran in Hollywood cinema.
In 2009, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad鈥檚 cultural adviser demanded that a group of US filmmakers and actors visiting Tehran, including聽Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Sid Ganis, actress Annette Bening, and former chairman of Universal Pictures Tom Pollock, among others, such as 鈥�300,鈥澛燼n animated film about the battle between Greeks and Persians at Thermopylae in 480 BC, which was distributed by Warner Brothers.
Iran has also complained about the 1991 film 鈥�Not Without My Daughter" and the 2008 film 鈥淭he Wrestler,鈥� in which American actor Mickey Rourke fights a character named "The Ayatollah" .听
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