Arts & Entertainment

Best Picture 'Argo' Filmed in Eagle Rock

The on-screen home of CIA agent Tony Mendez actually belongs to Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council President Michael Nogueira.

Eagle Rock became a small part of Oscar history on Sunday night when the Ben Affleck-directed Argo took home the acaeamy award for best picture. 

Not only did Affleck spend a stint during his youth as a student at Occidental College, but several key scenes in Argo were filmed inside a home in Eagle Rock.

Argo tells the story of CIA-agent Tony Mende—portrayed by Affleck—who coordinates a covert mission to extract six U.S. embassy employees from Tehran during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis.

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The scenes inside CIA Agent Tony Mendez's home were filmed at 2154 Hill Drive, the real-life residence of Chamber of Commerce and Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council President Michael Nogueira.

Underlying the film's high-stakes plot are several scenes about Mendez's attempts to reconnect with his wife and son, who live in Maryland.

Find out what's happening in Eagle Rockwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Argo's location scouts found that Eagle Rock's tree-lined streets served as a suitable stand-in for the East Coast suburb.

Nogueira said that all the scenes that were shot in Mendez's son's room were actually filmed inside his own son's bedroom.

A set designer relied on the a Sears catalog to the give the home the late-70's aesthetic that the film required, Nogueira said.

"The whole house was transformed to the 1970s," Nogueira said. "Brass beds, huge TVs, rotary phones, retro stuff and a lot of mustard yellow."

Nogueira said he was rooting for Argo to win the best picture award and opined that Affleck, who he called a "great guy," deserved to be nominated for the award for best director.

"He probably would have won that one, too," Nogueira said.


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