A couple of years ago, The Daily Show host Jon Stewart optioned the rights to BBC journalist Maziar Bahari's book,Then They Came For Me: A Family’s Story Of Love, Captivity And Survival , but at the time it wasn't clear exactly what he would do with it. Would he produce it, adapt it, or possibly step behind the camera himself? It's certainly not a comedic piece, although those who watch his show know Stewart's more than capable of getting serious when the need arises.
Well now we know exactly what Stewart's going to do, and it may upset some of The Daily Show's fans. Stewart will be taking a summer-long sabbatical from the show in order to make his directorial debut with Rosewater, adapting the script himself and working with super-producer Scott Rudin to bring Bahari's story to the big screen. In 2009, Bahari spent 118 days in an Iranian prison, arrested during that year's elections protests. Held under horrific conditions, blindfolded, and interrogated repatedly, he was forced to admit to crimes he obviously did not commit. Bahari never knew the identity of his captor, but the one identifiable trait was the distinct smell of rosewater, which explains the title. Bahari happened to make an appearance on The Daily Show at one point, which was also used against him by his interrogators. Stewart couldn't have chosen a tougher subject to take on for his writing/directing debut, and I'm curious to see how it all pans out. As for The Daily Show, fans needn't worry as John Oliver will be filling in for the 8 weeks of new episodes this summer. [Deadline]
