Alan Arkin is the first cast member to sign on to Argo for Warner Bros. and director Ben Affleck.

The project is based on the true story of an unlikely union between the CIA and Hollywood to rescue six American hostages in Tehran, Iran in 1979. The CIA's plan involved telling the Iranian hostage-takers that the six hostages were actually members of a film crew, who were scouting locations for a movie entitled Argo. The hostages were able to escape using those fake identities.

Alan Arkin will portray a Hollywood movie producer named Lester Siegel, who is also an O.S.S. veteran described as a cross between a rabbi and a bookie.

Ben Affleck will direct Argo from a screenplay by Chris Terrio. The script is based on a 2007 Wired magazine article written by Joshuah Bearman. George Clooney and Grant Heslov will produce through their Smoke House Productions company.

No production schedule was given for Argo yet.