We already knew that Canada and Iran were pretty mad about their portrayal in Argo - Iran was actually mad enough to attempt to sue all of Hollywood for alleged "Iranophobia" - but apparently they aren't the only country with a bone to pick. According to Vulture, New Zealand isn't all that happy with their tiny mention in the film, because they feel it sweeps their participation in the resolution of the Iranian hostage crisis aside.
To be fair, they have a point. In the film, when Ben Affleck's character Tony Mendez is being debriefed on Americans hiding out in Iran, he's told, "Brits turned them away. Kiwis turned them away. Canadians took them in." In reality, New Zealand did offer the escaped American embassy employees shelter for some time, and even continued to offer assistance in the form of food after they began staying with the Canadians. On the other hand, Argo isn't meant to be completely historically accurate, it's still a film for entertainment purposes and of course some changes are going to be made for the sake of the story and time. This is Hollywood, artistic liberties aren't a new concept.
New Zealand's parliament is the most pissed off of all: They believe the film "mislead the world about what actually happened." One member clarified, "It's a diabolical misrepresentation of the acts of courage and bravery, done at significant risk to themselves, by New Zealand diplomats."
New Zealand's prime minister, John Key, not so much: He reasoned, "This is Hollywood, and they do make movies. And a bit like when they transfer a book to a movie, often it's a little bit different...I think we've made our point and we should probably move on."
For the record, Affleck did acknowledge the complaints of New Zealanders last month - basically saying that it's tough to stay completely historically accurate while "[condensing] this into a three-act structure."
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[via Vulture]
