Jon Stewart’s Film ‘Rosewater’ Gets Release Date, ‘Daily Show’ Host Celebrates Directorial Debut
After taking a hiatus from his spot as the host of The Daily Show to write, produce and direct his first feature film, Jon Stewart will be celebrating the release of his directorial debut, Rosewater, on November 7.
Adapted from author/BBC journalist Maziar Bahari's book Then They Came For Me: A Family's Story Of Love, Captivity And Survival, the script was written by the comedian turned political satirist during his break last summer just before setting off to direct the film. During his time away, The Daily Show host spot was filled by correspondent John Oliver, who now has his own show on HBO –– Last Week Tonight.
The film, starring The Motorcycle Diaries' Gael Garcia Bernal, is being released via Open Road Films, which adapted the rights back in May following it being shown in Cannes.
Rosewater tells the true story of it's author (Bahari) –– a Tehran-born, Canadian citizen residing in London. Back in 2009, the journalist went to Iran to interview Mir-Hossein Moussavi, the challenger to incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. During his time there, Bahari submitted footage of the various riots that occurred, spawning from a number of political protests, and was then arrested by the Revolutionary Guard police –– a group led by a man known only as "Rosewater."
The author was interrogated for 118 days until being released on a $300,000 bail and an oath that he'd spy for the government. After being freed, Bahari stopped by The Daily Show, which had been covering his story the entire time.
Check out Stewart's interview with Bahari below: