Jon Stewart Will Take Break to Direct Movie

Jon Stewart plans to take a 12-week hiatus from the Daily Show in June to, surprise, surprise, direct a serious movie, reports the New York Times. What's more, Stewart adapted the screenplay for Rosewater himself. It's based on a book by Maziar Bahari, a journalist who was detained in Iran for four months and accused of plotting to overthrow the government. One of the bits of "evidence" that Iran used against Bahari? A comedy sketch he did on the Daily Show in which he was interviewed by a fake spy.

“One of the reasons we are in this business is to challenge ourselves, and I really connected to Maziar’s story," Stewart tells the Times' Brooks Barnes. "It’s a personal story but one with universal appeal about what it means to be free.” During Stewart's absence, the Daily Show will be hosted by John Oliver. (More Jon Stewart stories.)