Actor and director Ben Affleck has his sights set on making a movie about the growing conflict in Syria after winning the Best Picture Oscar for his Iranian hostage drama Argo.
The filmmaker has been the toast of the 2012/13 Hollywood awards season for his work and star turn in the thriller, based on the real-life events amid the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and 1980, but instead of basking in glory, he has already turned his attention to the ongoing fighting between rebel forces and government troops in another Middle Eastern country.
"I studied the Middle East in school. It's my interest," he tells New York Post columnist Cindy Adams.
"I've never been there, but with what's happening in Syria, I'd love to do a movie about that."
Argo, produced by Affleck alongside George Clooney and Grant Heslov, made history at Sunday's Oscars after becoming the first film to win Best Picture without also picking up a Best Director nod since Australian director Bruce Beresford's 1989 snub for Driving Miss Daisy.