
Optioned Stories: Jon Stewart Buys a Journalist’s Tale; Don Murphy Takes Cory Doctorow’s Latest Novel
Posted on Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010 by Russ Fischer
Jon Stewart is more than a sharp comic and (unexpectedly) a reliable voice for news analysis. He has worked as an actor, and is now making a foray back into producing. Stewart has optioned the rights to the life story of journalist Maziar Bahari, who was arrested in 2009 during the Iranian election protests. Bahari had taken part in a Daily Show sketch several months prior where he spoke to comedian Jason Jones, who was dressed as a spy. But Bahari’s jailers took the sketch as evidence that he was actually a spy, and interrogated him daily over 118 days.
After his release, Bahari appeared on the Daily Show to speak with Stewart (see their great exchange after the break) and Stewart has now purchased his life rights to form the basis for a feature film. Stewart’s company, Busboy Productions, will produce what is currently called the Untitled Maziar Bahari Project. [Pajiba]
After the break, Don Murphy’s company options Cory Doctorow’s new novel. Read More »