Jon Stewart is taking a break from "The Daily Show" this summer in order to make his feature film directorial debut with "Rosewater" — the story of BBC journalist Maziar Bahari's 2009 arrest by the Iranian government while covering an election protest.
Stewart wrote the screenplay for the film based on Bahari's New York Times best-selling memoir "Then They Came for Me: A Family’s Story of Love, Captivity and Survival" which discusses his 118-day interrogation and torture.
"One of the reasons we are in this business is to challenge ourselves,” Stewart explained to the NY Times. “And I really connected to Maziar’s story. It’s a personal story but one with universal appeal about what it means to be free.”
“One of the things that appealed to me about the story is that it does have lighter moments,” Stewart continued. “One of the things that kept Maziar alive was his ability to keep his sense of humor – to remember about joy and laughter – and see the absurdity of his situation.”
While Stewart is away shooting the film overseas this summer, "Daily Show" correspondent John Oliver will take over hosting duties for 12 weeks — eight of which the show will produce new episodes.
The Comedy Central series tapes and airs original episodes Monday through Thursday.
Not only is this Stewart's first time directing a feature film, it's also his first extended period of time away from the show in his 14 years as host.
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