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A new entry into the Rocky series has finally begun moving forward. Creed, directed by and starring the Fruitvale Station team of Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan, has been in-development for over a year. It’ll star Jordan as the grandson of Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), the nemesis/friend of Rocky Balboa who died in Rocky IV. He’s an up and coming boxer and asks his dad’s old friend Rocky (Sylvester Stallone, reprising his iconic role) for help.

Now it seems like the film is aiming at a January start date and two champion boxers are about to sign on. Read more about the Rocky spin-off, Creed, below.

The Hollywood Reporter offered the Creed update. According to them, champion boxers Andre Ward and Tony Bellew are in negotiations to appear in the film. Ward’s role is unclear but Bellew, a British fighter, will be the main adversary for the young Creed, a character named “Pretty” Ricky Porter.

If things work out, Creed will start shooting in January and the filming will take them between Las Vegas and Philadelphia, of course.

News of the film broke in July of last year and, since then, Jordan and Coogler have talked a lot about it but there hasn’t been much public movement. Coogler in particular offered an interesting update saying the film’s idea stemmed from his relationship with his father:

My dad and I are real close, and we were going through something pretty intense in our relationship around the time I was getting ready to make Fruitvale, and that’s how I came up with the idea for Creed. He was a big Rocky fan, and I watched the movies with him.

He also talked about the screenplay, which is he co-writing with Aaron Covington. According to Coogler, Sylvester Stallone contributed too:

He wrote every Rocky movie there ever was, so although I’m writing the script, I’ll definitely talk to him about it. Not only because he invented these characters, but because he’ll have to be an actor in the film, so it’s talking to him in both ways. Rocky isn’t the main character in the story, but he’s a major supporting player.

If filming starts early next year, there’s a chance Creed could be in theaters by Holiday 2015, or definitely sometime in 2016.

The post ‘Rocky’ Spinoff ‘Creed’ Moves Forward With Two New Boxers appeared first on /Film.

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It’s been pretty clear that Sony doesn’t know quite what to do with its Spider-Man franchise. There have been reports that Venom has been cancelled and Sinister Six may be a “soft reboot.” A female-centric movie is in the works but we have no idea what it’s about. Now the latest rumor is they’re pursuing a movie about Aunt May. Yes, that Aunt May. More on the Aunt May movie rumor after the jump.

Latino Review heard the Aunt May movie rumor from their sources. They’ve had some good scoops in the past, but this one is pretty wild so we’d caution you to take it with a healthy scoop of salt.

In the Amazing Spider-Man movies, as well as in Sam Raimi’s earlier Spider-Man trilogy, May Parker is portrayed as a kind older woman who raises Peter after the death of his parents. But according to Latino Review, the Aunt May spinoff will take place before all that. Instead, she’ll be a young spy. Think Mad Men or Pan Am… or perhaps, though Sony’s probably not eager to make his comparison, a Spidey-verse version of Agent Carter.

If true, this won’t be the first time someone’s tried to chronicle the adventures of a younger Aunt May. In the early 2000s Mark Millar wrote a romantic miniseries for Marvel called Trouble, which centered around teenage versions of May, Ben, and Peter’s parents Richard and Mary. Moreover, Richard and Mary have been secret agents in the books, so the general idea of Peter’s family being linked to espionage isn’t entirely new, even if the specific concept of Aunt May being a spy is.

Still, it sounds like a pretty big stretch. Aunt May is likable enough, but it’s hard to imagine many people are clamoring for an entire movie centered around her. Especially when the connection to Spider-Man — you know, the point around which the entire Spidey-verse revolves — sounds so tenuous. Not to mention Agent Carter already has the “superhero adaptation centered on a female spy in a retro setting” niche filled.

That’s not to say it’d be impossible to make an Aunt May movie work. Stranger things have happened. Nor is the Aunt May movie idea entirely terrible. Lord knows the superhero movie genre could use more female leads, and a spy thriller at least sounds like a more interesting take than yet another origin story. And the Amazing Spider-Man universe has hinted at some interesting Parker family history, so this could be a novel way to explore that angle.

It’s just that if Sony is determined to rejuvenate its Spider-Man franchise, an Aunt May spinoff seems like a very strange way to do it. She’s a third-tier supporting character without a devoted fanbase or a strongly established backstory, and she’d be exiled to an entirely different time period. Again, not saying it can’t or won’t happen. Just… really?

Do you want to see an Aunt May movie?

The post WTF Rumor: ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ Producers Planning Aunt May Movie? appeared first on /Film.

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Secret missions into space to save the Earth are so hot right now. Of course, there’s Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, but now there’s also the Syfy miniseries Ascension. Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) stars in the show which surmises that, in 1963, the U.S. government sent a group of people into space to find and populate a new planet. Fifty years have passed at the start of the show and a new character shows up and poses the possibility that was never their purpose at all.

The six hour miniseries debuts on December 15 and, below, you can see a new trailer for it. There’s also a behind the scenes video discussing that other hot button topic, the reality vs. actual science debate. Watch the new Ascenion Syfy trailer below.

Ascension Syfy trailer

Thanks to YouTube for the trailers for Ascension.

And here’s the behind the scenes video about the science of the show.

Here’s the official description of the show:

In the vein of past Syfy mini-series such as Taken, Alice, Tin Man and Battlestar Galactica, Ascension is a six-hour event set to debut on December 15.

In 1963, the U.S. government launched a covert space mission sending hundreds of men, women and children on a century-long voyage aboard the starship Ascension to populate a new world. Nearly 50 years into the journey, as they approach the point of no return, a mysterious murder of a young woman causes the ship’s population to question the true nature of their mission.

Tricia Helfer – known and loved by million as Cylon Number Six in Battlestar Galactica- is part of the cast. She will play Viondra Denniger, a beautiful, manipulative and dangerous power broker on the Ascension.

Brian Van Holt – star of Cougar Town and The Bridge – will play William Denninger, captain of the ship and Viondra’s husband. A natural leader, William quickly rose through the ranks after playing a heroic role in a fire early in the spacecraft’s voyage. While his professional life is solid, William’s marriage to Viondra is anything but.

Andrea Roth, star of Rescue Me, will play Juliet Bryce, head doctor of the Ascension. Her relationship with her daughter, Nora (played by Jacqueline Byers) is difficult and strained. Nora, for her part, is a young woman under intense pressure to follow in the family’s footsteps of being a doctor despite her own dreams.

Rounding out the cast are Brandon P. Bell as First Officer Oren Gault, who was born on the lower decks of the ship to maintenance workers and must investigate the aforementioned murder; Tiffany Lonsdale as Chief Astronomer Emily Vanderhaus, the older sister of the murder victim; and PJ Boudousque (Pretty Little Liars) as one of the ship’s maintenance workers.

Ascension is created and written by Philip Levens (Smallville), who will also serve as Executive Producer and Showrunner.

The post ‘Ascension’ Trailer: Syfy Miniseries About a Space Mission to Populate a New World appeared first on /Film.

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We knew that Lucasfilm was making a new animated movie; now it is already set for release in January 2015. Recently rumors surfaced of a possible sequel title for Frozen, when Disney registered URLs using the title “Strange Magic.” As it turns out, Strange Magic is the name of an already-completed animated film from Lucasfilm.

The movie features the voice talents of Alan Cumming, Evan Rachel Wood, Kristin Chenoweth, Maya Rudolph, Alfred Molina and Elijah Kelley. Gary Rydstrom directs from a story by George Lucas, based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Check out a first image below.

The info came first from Lucasfilm publicist Chris Argyropolous:

“Strange Magic,” a new animated film from Lucasfilm Ltd., will be released by Touchstone Pictures on January 23 2015 pic.twitter.com/wpLNxqkiHk

— Chris Argyropoulos (@ThatChrisA) November 11, 2014

Last year, Brave co-director Brenda Chapman referred to the film without specifics, explaining that she had been working on the story at Lucasfilm:

I have been working on a project with Lucas for quite some time — about six months. When Lucasfilm was handed over to Kathleen Kennedy, she asked me to consult on the film to help solve its story problems. It was an opportunity for me to work with her. I felt honored to be asked by her, after what happened at Pixar. DreamWorks was very generous to me in postponing my start date with them so that I could work with Kathleen, also. My work on the project is done. My good friend, Gary Rydstrom, is directing it now.

Here’s the press release info:

“Strange Magic,” a new animated film from Lucasfilm Ltd., will be released by Touchstone Pictures on January 23, 2015.  “Strange Magic” is a madcap fairy tale musical inspired by “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Popular songs from the past six decades help tell the tale of a colorful cast of goblins, elves, fairies and imps, and their hilarious misadventures sparked by the battle over a powerful potion. Lucasfilm Animation Singapore and Industrial Light & Magic, which created the CGI animation for 2011’s Academy Award®-winning film “Rango,” bring to life the fanciful forest turned upside down with world-class animation and visual effects.

With a story by George Lucas, “Strange Magic” is directed by Gary Rydstrom (“Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation,” “Lifted”), produced by Mark S. Miller (associate producer “Mars Attacks!”) and executive produced by George Lucas, with a screenplay by David Berenbaum (“Elf”), Irene Mecchi (“Brave,” “The Lion King”) and Rydstrom. An extraordinary roster of film, television and Broadway stars lend their voices to “Strange Magic,” including Alan Cumming (CBS’ “The Good Wife,” Broadway’s “Cabaret”), Evan Rachel Wood (“The Ides of March”), Kristin Chenoweth (Broadway’s “Wicked”), Maya Rudolph (“Big Hero 6,” “Bridesmaids”), Sam Palladio (ABC’s “Nashville”), newcomer Meredith Anne Bull, Alfred Molina (“Chocolat”), Elijah Kelley (“Hairspray,” “The Butler”), Bob Einstein (HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm”) and Peter Stormare (“Fargo”). Well-known music producer Marius de Vries (“Moulin Rouge”) serves as both the musical director and composer.

 

The post First Look: ‘Strange Magic’ Is a New Lucasfilm Animated Feature appeared first on /Film.

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The release of last weekend’s Big Hero 6 was the first time many people had even heard of the Big Hero 6. In fact, however, the characters have been around in the Marvel comic book universe for over 16 years. Not that you’d necessarily recognize them. As some early sketches of Hiro and Baymax show, they looked way different back in the day.

Hit the jump to see the original Big Hero 6 designs from the 1990s.

Created by Steven T. Seagle and Duncan Rouleau, the Big Hero 6 made their first appearance in Marvel Comics in 1998. They first appeared alongside familiar X-Men characters like Silver Samurai and Sunfire as well as the Canadian team Alpha Flight. Unlike a lot of their fellow Marvel heroes, however, they’ve remained relatively obscure. I wouldn’t be surprised if less comics-savvy moviegoers assumed Disney Animation invented the Big Hero 6.

Marvel hasn’t helped matters by declining to publish new Big Hero 6 comics or reprint classic ones in advance of the film’s release. Instead, as reported by Bleeding Cool, Yen Press and Joe Books are putting out new books. But this is the Internet, where old stuff is resurfacing all the time. In celebration of the Big Hero 6 movie release, Seagle and Rouleau are releasing sketches of the original Big Hero 6 designs through Man of Action Entertainment.

Below are the very first drawings of Baymax and Hiro.

Rouleau explained of Hiro’s costume design: “I wanted to make sure his battle suit reflected how smart he was despite his young age.” Meanwhile, they had fun with Baymax’s gigantic proportions while drawing his suit. “This design played on Baymax’s enormous size, which made it even funnier to imagine him in street clothes when he wasn’t showing his armor off!” Rouleau said. Yeah, that armor definitely undermines his nonthreatening, huggable design.

Oh, and speaking of street clothes, here’s what they have to say about the snazzy suits in the last sketch: “In the original BH6, Hiro built Baymax to take the place of his deceased father, and I thought it was hilarious that Duncan designed Baymax in this look to be just as huge as he was in his Armor mode,” said Seagle. Rouleau added, “In their debut story in the comics, we imagined Hiro had already been a hero and an agent for a while, so it made sense to give him a sleek ‘junior James Bond’ look.”

Rouleau and Seagle plan to run a new sketch each day for the rest of the week, so keep an eye on their site for more.

The post See the Original Big Hero 6 Designs From 1998 appeared first on /Film.

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Thought shark-tornadoes were a ridiculous idea? Wait til we send them into outer space! Or at least, that’s what the artwork on the new Sharknado 3 seems to be saying. Also after the jump:

• Tina Fey says it’s “too late” for a Mean Girls sequel
• Bette Midler is totally up for a Hocus Pocus sequel
• John Lasseter explains why they’re making Toy Story 4
• Jason Statham is returning for a sequel to The Mechanic
• The Transporter Legacy sets a summer release date
• Rumors has it Sam Smith will sing the Bond 24 theme

Technically a Mean Girls 2 already exists in direct-to-DVD form. But if you’re wondering whether we might ever get a real Mean Girls sequel with the original cast… well, it depends who you ask.

Tina Fey says no, because “it’s too late now.” Amanda Seyfried doesn’t want one either “because you can’t fuck with that.” But Lindsay Lohan thinks “it would be really cool” to do one of the mean girls as adults, while Rachel McAdams is “totally up for that” provided Fey is involved. And Lacey Chabert goes one further, saying she only wants in if Fey is writing and Mark Waters is directing.

Tl;dr version: No, there isn’t going to be a Mean Girls sequel. [EW]

Want a Hocus Pocus sequel? So do Bette Midler and her co-stars. You know who doesn’t, though? Disney. After getting asked for the gazillionth time about a Hocus Pocus sequel during a Reddit AMA, Midler made a suggestion to her fans.

Inundate the Disney company, because I have canvassed the girls and they are wiling to do it, but we have no say in it, so if yo want a HOCUS POCUS 2, ask the Walt Disney company.

Midler also fielded a question about a First Wives Club sequel, but sounded less hopeful about that. “Oh it’s so funny, they didn’t want to make a sequel. It made over $100 million, and they couldn’t be bothered,” she wrote. [Reddit]

Toy Story 3 ended on such a perfect note that last week’s Toy Story 4 announcement got some severely mixed reactions. However, director John Lasseter insists it’s not about the money.

A lot of people in the industry view us doing sequels as being for the business of it, but for us it’s pure passion. We only make sequels when we have a story that’s as good as or better than the original. We don’t just, because of the success of a film, automatically say we’re going to do a sequel and then figure out what we’re going to do.

Lasseter will be joined on the new film by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, who are writing the script. “They have such a great sense of character and originality,” he said of the pair. “And I wanted to get a strong female voice in the writing of this.” [LAT]

Jason Statham‘s The Mechanic is getting a sequel, and it’s just added a whole bunch of familiar faces. Tommy Lee Jones, Jessica Alba, and Michelle Yeoh are all set to join Statham in Mechanic: Resurrection, due out January 22, 2016. Dennis Gansel is directing.

Shooting has already begun on the new film, which picks up with hitman Arthur Bishop (Statham) as he tries to enjoy a peaceful retirement following his own faked death. But he’s pulled back into action and tasked with assassinating some of the most dangerous men in the world. [Variety, THR]

The Transporter Legacy will be delivered a bit later than expected. Relativity has just shifted the release date from February 27, 2015 to June 19, 2015, where it’ll be up against Pixar’s Inside Out and the YA romance Paper Towns. Hey, sometimes you need some mindless violence to wash down all the feels.

Ed Skrein (Daario Naharis version 1.0 from Game of Thrones) replaces Jason Statham as Frank Martin in the new installment. The film follows him into the French criminal underworld, where he takes down a group of Russian human traffickers. [Coming Soon]

Those “Sam Smith is doing the Bond 24 theme” rumors are intensifying. Sources indicate the British singer-songwriter has been in talks with producer Barbara Broccoli for the new film, beating out Lana Del Rey. But filmmakers aren’t saying anything and Smith’s reps will only say the story “is not confirmed,” so we don’t know anything for sure yet. [Page Six]

The first Sharknado 3 poster has just hit the American Film Market, and it looks predictably, enjoyably silly. The new tagline is “Oh hell no!” which goes well with Sharknado 2‘s “Shark happens!” and Sharknado‘s “Enough said!”

If the poster is any indication, this Sharknado looks even more ridiculous than its predecessors. There are spaceships floating around in the backdrop and the sharks have strange demonic eyes. We already know Sharknado 3 will be hitting the “Feast Coast” (i.e., the area from Washington, DC to Orlando, Florida), but might it shoot up into outer space after that? Perhaps in hopes of traveling through a wormhole and finding a new planet for Earthlings to inhabit? [Shock Till You Drop]

The post Sequel Bits: ‘Toy Story 4′, ‘Bond 24′, ‘Sharknado 3′, ‘Mean Girls’, ‘Hocus Pocus’ appeared first on /Film.

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The success of Disney Animation continued this weekend with the release of Big Hero 6. A loose adaptation of a Marvel Comic of the same name, the fast-paced, emotional action film follows a young boy named Hiro who employs his older brother’s health robot Baymax to help track down a mysterious villain.

That’s the non-spoiler way to describe it. But with the movie now in theaters, and already a hit, it’s time to talk spoilers. Speaking with the film’s directors Don Hall and Chris Williams, we asked about a bunch of the super spoilery questions you probably had after watching the film. Character motivations, ultimate fates, potential plot holes, cameos and more. Below, the directors answer your Big Hero 6 questions.

Big Hero 6 Questions Answered

Beware of major spoilers for the rest of this article.

1. Since the villain, Callahan, didn’t know about Hiro’s Microbots until the science fair, how did he develop his devious plan so incredibly quickly?

Chris Williams: Well you never want that stuff to supersede the emotional story. You know what I mean? Like the bot mechanics. You never want to come at the expense of the actual throughline of the story. But we did talk about it. We tried to make it as sort of airtight as possible. We did talk about the fact that the after Hiro presents his Microbots, we really nuanced that acting when he’s applauding at the end. So that it can be perceived when you look at it the first time, it’s like ‘Oh he’s impressed by the show.’

Don Hall: Yeah.

Williams: You watch it another time, you’re like ‘Oh he sees how he’s going to destroy his nemesis.’

Hall: The birth of his evil idea. So a lot of care went into the right angle of the eyebrow and everything. But yeah, there were versions of the story where we did focus a little bit more on that and it came at the expense of the emotional story. And the Hiro-Baymax story is the most important thing. So those plotty threads, you sure up as much as you can. And no matter what, emotionally, the idea of the villain going or reacting to loss was always central to the story. We wanted to mirror Hiro’s story and almost be a cautionary tale of what can happen if you let hatred kind of crush your soul.

2. When Baymax “dies,” he doesn’t really die because his personality is all on that chip. How much did you consider the notion this is a kids movie and they may or may not understand that technological explanation?

Williams: In Tadashi’s explanation, he talks about that chip is what makes Baymax Baymax. Then just symbolically the fact that it’s sitting where your heart sits. I think people seem to be able to ingest and understand the idea that that is his essence, and that by holding onto the chip that he is still himself at the end of the movie.

Hall: But even the idea of it’s interesting. We screened the movie and get feedback and stuff like that internally. And some people who are a little bit more empirical minded and logic minded would always say “Well he’s a robot, you can always rebuild him.” But we’re hoping that the audience doesn’t think about that. They’re thinking of Baymax as a character, not as a robot. If they thought a robot is a robot, then that’s not gonna be as emotional. But he’s a character by that point. So you forgot that he could be rebuilt. And so “The Sweet Cookie” we call it when Hiro finds that chip again, your heart should elate because you know what made Baymax Baymax is still there..

Williams: And there’s no way you can rebuild sort of the experiences they’ve had together.

Hall: Exactly.

Williams: The bond they share. The amount that Baymax has learned over the course of the story. That’s something you can’t just replicate. I think that’s why, you know, Baymax seemingly is gone at the end of the film.

Hall: Also he has learned and that is on that chip. We’ve shown that he’s had a little bit of a learning curve over the course of the film. And grown to, in his own robotic way, love and care for Hiro.

Continue Reading Spoilers! Your Six Big Hero 6 Burning Questions Revealed

The post Spoilers! Your Six ‘Big Hero 6′ Burning Questions Answered By The Directors appeared first on /Film.

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The sequel is the ultimate catch 22. If you think too hard about setting one up, you won’t concentrate enough on the first film and it won’t warrant it. On the flip side, if you focus all your energy on a single, great film, a sequel will be in demand you may leave yourself without a place to take it.

These days, way more films fall into column A than column B and it’s a major problem in Hollywood. What about the good old days? The days when a studio would release an awesome movie, fans would love it, and that would be it? No sequel needed. Well, iam8bit in Los Angeles is harkening back to those days, but with a twist, for their next art exhibit: Sequel. Around 50 pieces of art are featured in the show, all for sequels that never happened. Follow ups to movies we know and love – Spaceballs, The Rocketeer, Labyrinth, Fight Club, Blade Runner etc. – made just for fun.

Sequel opens in Los Angeles on November 13 and, below, we’ve got a bunch of posters from the show including exclusive sequels to Hobo With A Shotgun, Videodrone and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Sequel will be open starting 7-11 p.m. November 13 at iam8bit, 2147 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, California. It remains on display through November 23. Learn more on Facebook and all the art will be on sale November 14 at store.iam8bit.com.

Here are some of the posters from Sequel. Remember, there are almost 50 total so this is just a sampling. Also the first three can only be seen here on /Film.

Here’s the full list of artists in the show:

Alex Griendling, Andras Baranyai, Andrew Bannecker, Andy Fairhurst, Arno Kiss, Arthur D’Araujo, Ashley Wood, Austin James, Boneface, Chris B. Murray, Corinne Reid, Cory Schmitz, Dimitri Simakis, Doaly, Drew Wise, Emory Allen, Evanimal, Fab Ciraolo, Goncalo Viana, Inus Pretorius, James Gilleard, Japaneze Baby, Jim Rugg, Kaz Oomori, Malleus, Marc Scheff, Marco D’Alfonso, Mark Borgions, Marko Manev, Matt Haley, Mitch Ansara, Muxxi, Nikkolas Smith, Nimit Malavia, Odessa Sawyer, Orlando Arocena, Pavel Fuksa, Rafael Gil, Rich Davies, Rich Pellegrino, Rich Rayburn, Robert Sammelin, Ruben Ireland, Sam Spina, Steve Courtney ,Tom Miatke.

The post Cool Stuff: Movie Posters For Sequels That Never Happened appeared first on /Film.

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There’s no question that Christopher Nolan‘s Interstellar is fictional, but how fictional is it? That’s been one of the points of debate surrounding the sci-fi epic, with people like astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson weighing on the plausibility of its science.

For his part, though, Nolan himself doesn’t seem at all bothered by the criticism. He says he’s “fine” with his films being held to “a weirdly high standard,” and points out the obvious fact that “much of it is speculation.” Hit the jump to Nolan’s comments on the science of Interstellar.

Nolan definitely made an effort to make the science of Interstellar seem real and plausible, going as far as to invite physicist Kip Thorne on board as a consultant and executive producer. Still, his priority is telling a story, not teaching scientific facts. He readily admits there are some “cheats.” He told the Daily Beast:

My films are always held to a weirdly high standard for those issues that isn’t applied to everybody else’s films—which I’m fine with. People are always accusing my films of having plot holes, and I’m very aware of the plot holes in my films and very aware of when people spot them, but they generally don’t.

He continued:

Those issues are all buttoned-up, and Kip has a book on the science of the film about what’s real, and what’s speculation—because much of it is, of course, speculation. There have been a bunch of knee-jerk tweets by people who’ve only seen the film once, but to really take on the science of the film, you’re going to need to sit down with the film for a bit and probably also read Kip’s book. I know where we cheated in the way you have to cheat in movies, and I’ve made Kip aware of those things.

It’s nice to see Nolan taking the Interstellar criticism in stride. If anything, he should be flattered that people are so determined to pick apart the science of Interstellar. As with Gravity last year, Interstellar is only getting scrutinized this closely because it seems surprisingly plausible and realistic. You don’t see people debating the odds of a sentient tree and a talking raccoon teaming up to fight evil aliens, after all.

And while Nolan’s Interstellar may not be entirely accurate, it’s fantastic that it’s getting people curious about the real theories behind it. One of the themes of Interstellar was the importance of space exploration. By sparking such a lively debate among serious scientists and ordinary moviegoers alike, Nolan is doing his part to make sure the depressing, conspiracy-theory-laden, anti-NASA future envisioned in his movie never comes to pass.

For a more detailed account of the science of Interstellar, check out the book by Thorne that Nolan mentions.

The post Christopher Nolan Responds to Criticisms About ‘Interstellar’ Science appeared first on /Film.

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Last week marked the 35th anniversary of the start of the Iran hostage crisis, perhaps best known to some moviegoers as “the thing that happens in Argo.” But while learning history by watching Hollywood thrillers may be enjoyable, it’s not really the best way to get an accurate account of events. So the CIA has taken the occasion to fact-check Ben Affleck‘s 2013 Best Picture winner via Twitter.

Some of their reveals may not surprise you (shocker: the Hollywood version is more dramatic) but overall it’s interesting to see how reality stacks up against fiction. Hit the jump to find out “what’s ‘reel’ vs. ‘real,’” as the CIA puts it.

It seems a safe bet that the “Canadian Caper,” as the rescue operation was dubbed, was plenty dramatic in real life. How could it not be? Nevertheless, it seems Affleck and his Argo team messed with some of the details to make the whole thing even more thrilling.

For one thing, it was never really just Tony Mendez against the world.

Reel #Argo: Only one CIA officer goes to Tehran to help exfiltrate the six American diplomats. pic.twitter.com/iFEcrBzlyb

— CIA (@CIA) November 7, 2014

Real #Argo: Two CIA officers with notable forgery and exfiltration skills used their talents & knowledge to get the six out of Iran safely.

— CIA (@CIA) November 7, 2014

Nor did the CIA pull the plug on the operation at the last minute.

Reel #Argo: The mission is called off the night before they are scheduled to depart. pic.twitter.com/j4h0at57Sq

— CIA (@CIA) November 7, 2014

Real #Argo: Carter gave approval prior to the CIA team flying to Tehran, Iran. The details were approved by policymakers in Ottawa and DC.

— CIA (@CIA) November 7, 2014

Real #Argo: The night before the exfiltration the team received final approval; last line in that approval: “See you later, exfiltrator.”

— CIA (@CIA) November 7, 2014

(You also don’t get a sense of how adorable the CIA’s sense of humor is, because no one in Argo says things like ”See you later, exfiltrator.”)

That scene where Mendez and the diplomats head out to “scout locations”? Never happened.

Reel #Argo: The CIA officer and the six diplomats go into town to scout locations. pic.twitter.com/2gx2sHjPBO

— CIA (@CIA) November 7, 2014

Real #Argo: They never went to the marketplace to scout a location. The six hid in the Canadian’s homes for 79 days. pic.twitter.com/szTgt9stvb

— CIA (@CIA) November 7, 2014

Nor did most of the problems depicted in the nail-biting climax of the film.

Reel #Argo: Airline tickets are not waiting at the counter and have to be rechecked before the tickets are authorized and confirmed.

— CIA (@CIA) November 7, 2014

Real #Argo: The Canadians had already purchased the tickets for the Americans. There were no issues at the counter nor the checkpoints.

— CIA (@CIA) November 7, 2014

Reel #Argo: The Americans are detained at the airport by security guards & a call is made back to “Studio Six” to verify their identity.

— CIA (@CIA) November 7, 2014

Real #Argo: It didn’t happen. An early flight was picked so airline officials would be sleepy & Revolutionary Guards would still be in bed.

— CIA (@CIA) November 7, 2014

Real #Argo: There was an hour long mechanical delay, other than that the escape could not have gone better. #nochase pic.twitter.com/a0TnVeBgBt

— CIA (@CIA) November 7, 2014

Real #Argo: There was an hour long mechanical delay, other than that the escape could not have gone better. #nochase pic.twitter.com/a0TnVeBgBt

— CIA (@CIA) November 7, 2014

However, Argo did get one big moment right.

Reel #Argo: The plane clears Iranian air space and the Americans cheer and celebrate.

— CIA (@CIA) November 7, 2014

Real #Argo: That happened; there was even a round of celebratory Bloody Marys. #ThankYouCanada

— CIA (@CIA) November 7, 2014

Well, for the most part. I don’t remember any Bloody Marys in Argo, though I’m sure you’ll set me straight if I’m wrong.

And most importantly…

Real #Argo: All involved in the operation were innovative, brave, & creative. Thank you @BenAffleck for making a film that reflects this.

— CIA (@CIA) November 7, 2014

Real #ARGO: An exciting movie that it kept us on the edge of our seats. Letting @BenAffleck film here? Best bad idea we’ve had. #ThanksBen!

— CIA (@CIA) November 7, 2014

There are a few more minor details you can read about at the CIA Twitter account, or you can get the full firsthand account from Mendez himself on the CIA website. Between this, Mark Zuckerberg’s criticism of The Social Network, and Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s nitpicks about Interstellar, the real lesson is clear: Don’t believe everything you see in the movies.

The post ‘Argo’ Fact vs. Fiction: The CIA Weighs In appeared first on /Film.

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