23 Mar – A French lawyer that is representing Iran has stepped up to reveal that the country will be suing Hollywood for distorting the country's image, specifically naming the Oscar-winning film "Argo". Daily Chilli reported that Ben Affleck's CIA espionage thriller is just the latest addition to a long line of films that defamed Iran, which resulted in the country's decision to file a possible lawsuit against Hollywood. The French lawyer, Isabelle Coutant-Peyre said, "I'll be defending Iran against films that have been made by Hollywood to distort the country's image, such as "Argo"." Although Coutant-Peyre did not mention what those films are, they are speculated to be Brian Gilbert's 1991 movie "Not Without My Daughter", Zack Snyder's "300", Oliver Stone's 2004 "Alexander" and Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler".
"Not Without My Daughter" tells the story of American woman (Sally Field) fleeing Iran with her daughter to escape her Iranian husband, while "300" is an action film about a fictional epic battle between 300 Greek Spartans and 30,000 Persians. According to a cultural advisor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, they called it "American psychological warfare against Iran." "Alexander" is of course, about Alexander The Great, a historical figure reviled in Iranian culture that conquered the Persian Empire in 331 BC and "The Wrestler" is a 2008 drama about a down and out professional wrestler (Mickey Rourke) with not only a scene where Rourke breaks a pole bearing an Iranian flag over his knee, there is also his wrestling nemesis The Ayatollah, which references the supreme leader of Iran, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei. Despite the uproar about "Argo", the film has not been shown in cinemas in Malaysia, only Singapore. The only forms of screenings available are through a FINAS seminar this weekend and at The Gastro Project, who is screened the film free-of-charge for their patrons on 19 March 2013.