Art imitating life imitating art imitating life imitating…

USS Nimitz

USS Nimitz

Hollywood makes a movie, a year or so ago, about the Iran hostage crisis. It tells the true story of how the CIA pretended to be making a movie in Iran in order to sneak a handful of the American hostages out of the country.

The real movie about the fake movie that hoaxed the Iranians wins the Best Picture Oscar, which Iran could not have failed to notice.

So… now we see that Iran is building a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier — or rather, a vessel that looks like a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. They do it in plain sight, so we can’t fail to notice. Our intel guys watch it being built ever since last summer, and we finally get to the point that we can’t stand it anymore, and have to say something.

Then, when the United States raises questions as to what in the world Iran is up to, they respond, Uhhh… it’s for a movie! Yeah, that’s the ticket… we’re making a movie… ya know, like ‘Argo.’

Which makes us wonder what they’re really up to. What could be the actual purpose for which making a movie is the transparent cover?

Whatever it is, when they spring it on us, I half expect the Iranians to say, “Argo ___ yourself!”

"I'm, uhhh... making a movie! Yeah, that's the ticket..."

“I’m, uhhh… making a movie! Yeah, that’s the ticket…”

2 thoughts on “Art imitating life imitating art imitating life imitating…

  1. Brad Warthen

    No one interested in speculating about this? I find it fascinating.

    If this is for a movie, it may break the world record for most wasteful and unnecessary expenditure of time and money on an effect. Think about it: You want to show a carrier flight deck? It can be built of plywood on solid ground. I just see no reason why you’d have to have a mock, floating (if it floats) carrier made of steel.

    Of course, Iranian film companies don’t have access to official Navy film of carriers, which American film companies might use — or permission to shoot on real carriers, as some films have done. And maybe they lack CGI capability that we take for granted.

    But still — there must be a workaround simpler than THIS…

Comments are closed.