Jon Stewart taking break from "The Daily Show" to direct "Rosewater"

PanARMENIAN.Net - Jon Stewart is going to take a 12-week hiatus from "The Daily Show" this summer to make his directorial debut. The political satirist is set to direct "Rosewater", a movie he wrote based on BBC journalist Maziar Bahari's memoir "Then They Came for Me: A Family's Story of Love, Captivity and Survival," AceShowbiz said.

Stewart's extended hiatus, which will start in June, includes eight weeks during which the show produces new episodes. Though so, "The Daily Show" will remain airing new episodes during those eight weeks with correspondent John Oliver filling Stewart's shoes as the host.

Stewart's film "Rosewater" itself chronicles Bahari's 2009 arrest by the Iranian government while covering an election protest as he was accused of being a spy. During the 118-day arrest, he was interrogated and tortured by a man he knew only by his scent, rosewater.

To the New York Times, Stewart admitted the prospect of a film was "a little scary" but that "one of the reasons we are in this business is to challenge ourselves." He went on explaining, "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."