Argo: From Classified CIA Files to Hollywood Movie

The Scene: Los Angeles

Tuesday, December 04, 2012 - 12:00 PM

From KCRW's The Business, hosted by Kim Masters

David Klawans is a little-known producer who's more comfortable spending 10 hours a day researching than shmoozing at a lunch. In fact, his unique approach to finding true stories for Hollywood movies is reminiscent of a detective piecing together parts of a puzzle.

Klawans tells KCRW's Darby Maloney that he discovered the true story of Argo back in the late 1990's when the CIA mission was first declassified by Clinton. But he couldn't sell it to Hollywood the traditional way. Noticing that studios were optioning magazine articles he decided to create his own article. Klawans paired up with reporter Joshuah Bearman to write a piece about the Argo mission for Wired magazine. Then Hollywood came calling.

In the meantime, Klawans turned another true story into the 2006 Jack Black comedy Nacho Libre. The way he got the rights to the Mexican Padre/Lucha Libre wrestler for that film is a lesson in pure chutzpah.

 

Alan Arkin and Ben Affleck on the set of Argo (Warner Bros)Alan Arkin and Ben Affleck (as Tony Mendez) on the set of Argo (Warner Bros)

Tags:

More in:

Comments [1]

Janet Cowie from Brussels

I'm immensely gratified at the repeated successes of "Argo" and at David Klawans' part in it. Years ago I was his teacher and even then impressed with his dedication to what he knew he wanted to do; work in film. Unlike many young people, particularly in our international school rife with ambitious parents, David stuck to his guns and pursued his dream. His success is richly deserved.

Feb. 11 2013 04:25 AM

Leave a Comment

Register for your own account so you can vote on comments, save your favorites, and more. Learn more.
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.

Supported by

Supported by

Feeds