Iran’s Hollywood lawsuit will include more than just ‘Argo’

Iran isn’t happy with Hollywood period. Its anger comes from more than just Argo and it plans to sue for a series of films that have promoted ‘Iranophobia.’

On Tuesday, the world learned that Iran wants to sue Hollywood over Argo, the Best Picture-winning film by Ben Affleck that depicts the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis and the rescue of six hostages. Iran even hired the famous French lawyer Isabelle Coutant-Peyre, who represented international terrorist Carlos the Jackal in court and later married him.

Now, the U.K. Guardian is reporting that Argo is just the tip of the iceberg. Coutant-Peyre spoke Monday at The Hoax of Hollywood conference in Tehran and was quoted as telling the media there, “I'll be defending Iran against films that have been made by Hollywood to distort the country's image, such as Argo.”

Argo is banned in Iran, but pirate copies have reached the streets. It was officially screened privately twice, including Monday.

Other films cited as particularly offensive to Iran include Zack Snyder’s 2007 film 300, Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler and Brian Gilbert’s Not Without My Daughter.

The point of Monday’s conference was to “unify all cultural communities in Iran against the attacks of the west, particularly Hollywood,” organizer Mohammad Lesani said.

Iran is already working on a response to Argo. According to CNN, the film will be titled The General Staff and is set to focus on 20 American hostages who were turned over by Iranian revolutionaries.

Meanwhile, analysts told Fox News that the suit against Argo doesn’t have any legal basis. After all, who would Iran sue? Warner Bros.? The film’s producers? Screenwriter Chris Terrio? There’s also the fact that, despite claiming to be a true story, Argo was never considered a documentary and even former President Jimmy Carter said that there were inaccuracies.