'Argo' Trailer: Ben Affleck Offers First Look at New Thriller

For months, the only evidence we've seen of Ben Affleck's next directorial effort, Argo, has been his fantastic mutton chop sideburns. All that changes now.

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Ben Affleck's 'Argo' Release Moves Into Heart of Awards Season

Ben Affleck in 'Argo': First Official Image Released (Photo)

The first trailer for the film arrived on Tuesday morning, making its debut on Good Morning America and then hitting the web. Based on a true story, the film features Affleck as Tony Mendez, a CIA specialist who concocts a wild, desperate and ingenius plan to extract from Iran a number of US citizens stranded in the home of the Canadian ambassador: pretend that the Americans were actually members of a Canadian film crew.

STORY: Argo Release Date Moved to the Heart of Awards Season

To do that, though, he has to construct the entire infrastructure of a movie, as believability is paramount. With the help of government operatives and Hollywood hotshots in the form of John Goodman, Alan Arkin and Bryan Cranston, he goes about the motions of producing a film -- without ever actually making a movie.

The highly anticipated film opens on October 12.