By Valerie Turpin

At last night’s Oscars, School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) alum Chris Terrio took home the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for Argo. The win epitomizes SCA’s mission to keep an engaging story at the forefront of filmmaking.

Argo, a dramatization of CIA operative Tony Mendez’s rescue of six U.S. diplomats from Tehran, Iran during the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis, has been nominated for and has won numerous awards since its October 2012 theatrical release. Nominated for seven Oscars, the film also took home the awards for Best Film Editing and the coveted Best Picture award. Beating out such contenders as Les Misérables, Silver Linings Playbook and Lincoln, the prize for Best Picture was jointly awarded to producers George Clooney, USC alum Grant Heslov ‘86 and Ben Affleck, who also directed and starred in the film.

“We're so proud of both Chris Terrio and Grant Heslov for their Oscar wins for Argo,” said Justin Wilson, the head of Alumni Relations at SCA. “2012 was a terrific year for movies, and for USC alumni in particular, so it was fitting to see them both recognized at the highest level. Of course, we're proud of all our alumni nominees this past year.”

Having graduated from SCA’s Production Division in ’02, Terrio made his feature film debut at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival for Heights, featuring actors Glenn Close, James Marsden and Elizabeth Banks. In addition to his Oscar win, Terrio also took home awards for Best Adapted Screenplay for Argo from the Writers Guild of America, the San Diego Film Critics Society, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (for Best Screenplay) and last month’s 70th Golden Globes.

Since 1973, at least one USC alum has received an Academy Award nomination. This year, fifteen USC alumni were nominated for Oscars in varying categories. See the full list of 2013 nominees HERE.

Argo has recently been released to DVD, Blu-Ray and online downloading.