Trivia: In 2013, this became the first film since 1989's Driving Miss Daisy to win the Academy Award for Best Picture without also earning a Best Director nomination.
Trivia: When Tony gets out of his car at the airport to fly to Tehran, the real Tony Mendez makes a cameo passing by him with his family. (00:45:35)
Trivia: The airport scene that shows the group board and takeoff in a Swissair 747 was in reality a Swissair DC-8, tail number HB-IDL and was named "Aargau." It went on to fly with Capital Air/National Airlines and finally with Airborne Express before being scrapped in 2003.
Answer: A film crew is more credible than a group of tourists being involved in this type of activity. Tourists' behavior would be more limited and subject to being noticed by authorities if they acted in a unusual manner. A film crew would have access to more out-of-the-way locations, and if they acted suspiciously, could pass it off as it being part of making a movie.
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