Most people take extended vacations from work to relax, recharge their batteries and possibly reconnect with what makes them want to work in the first place. Jon Stewart, on the other hand, has announced a break from this daily faux-news comedy program so that he can do more work.
Stewart, whose illustrious film credits to date include Adam Sandler’s Big Daddy and Kevin Smith’s Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, wants to make his directorial debut this summer, according to Variety. The trade says Stewart will take a 12-week hiatus from The Daily Show on Comedy Central to helm Rosewater, an historical drama for which he wrote the screenplay.
The story will be adapted from BBC journalist Mazir Bahari’s book Then They Came For Me: A Family’s Story of Love, Captivity and Survival. The story follows Bahari’s factual account of a four-month prison sentence he served in an Iranian cell where he was repeatedly interrogated by a man who smelled of Rosewater. Great name for a prison drama. Variety notes that there is a connection to Stewart’s show, as Bahari’s captors used his appearances on The Daily Show as evidence that he was a spy. It would be very meta if Stewart found some way to include clips from his own show in his debut movie. We shall see.
Stewart’s an intelligent comedian and a gifted newsman (even if he claims not to be an actual journalist) who worked tirelessly in the entertainment industry at MTV and Fox before landing at Comedy Central. Variety says that John Oliver will fill in while Stewart’s shooting his movie. More on Rosewater as it develops.
