Parliament today formally expressed its regret at the way Hollywood director and actor Ben Affleck portrayed New Zealand in his Oscar-winning film Argo.
The movie, a Warner Bros production, suggests New Zealand diplomats turned away American diplomats who escaped from the US embassy hostage crisis in 1979 when, in fact,
they helped them to get out of Tehran.
A motion moved by New Zealand First leader Winston Peters was passed without dissent stating: "That this House acknowledge with gratitude the efforts of former New Zealand diplomats Chris Beeby and [second secretary] Richard Sewell in assisting American fugitives or hostages in Tehran during the hostage crisis in 1979 and expresses its regret that the director of the movie Argo saw fit to mislead the world about what actually happened during that crisis when in reality our courageous New Zealand diplomats' inspirational actions were of significant help to the American hostages and deserve the factual and historic record to be corrected.''
Argo, which won the best film Oscar, was based on the escape of six US diplomats from the basement of the Canadian ambassador's residence in Tehran.
In contains a line incorrectly stating that the diplomats had ended up with the Canadians after being turned away by the British and New Zealand embassies.
