In the Book
In the Movie
Mendez and his associates settle for rented office space at a Hollywood studio and a script. The publicity eventually gets a life of its own and people call for more information.
Mendez selects a script called Argo that is in turnaround. Siegel and Mendez meet with Max Klien to buy the rights to produce Argo. They get the rights for $10,000. Mendez is told he has 72 hours to get the backstory ready.
The teacher cover story is just one of the options that Mendez decides not to go with after arriving in Iran.
Jack O'Donnell tells Mendez that the CIA is going with the extraction using covers as teachers for the Americans.
This does not happen in the book.
Mendez goes over this boss' head to get a meeting with top CIA officials to convince them that the film crew method is the only one that will work. Mendez is given the go-ahead.
It is an open secret among the Canadian and American governments as well as much of the American press that there are Americans hiding in Tehran.
The AP knows that six Americans escaped. The CIA is trying to get them to delay publishing the story.
The required documents are obtained by other members of his team.
Upon entry into Iran, Mendez steals blank entry forms for the six Americans to use.