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 »

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Don Murphy Takes Option on Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother, Lines Up More Good Stuff

Posted on Thursday, June 18th, 2009 by Brendon Connelly

An option is definitely not anything like a greenlight for a film, nor is it even talent being hired to develop a film, and all it is, really, is a producer lying down some dollar to prevent anybody else scooping up a great potential. Bearing that in mind, I’m still really very pleased to report that Don Murphy has optioned Cory Doctorow‘s semi-sci-fi political activism adventure novel, Little Brother. There’s really no need for me to tell you too much about the book when, thanks to Creative Commons, you can download it for yourself, for free. I recommend the nice, easy-on-the-eye pdf version styled by Bruce M Campell. All I’ll tell you in advance is that the story doubles as a kind of handbook on how to use social networking media, wit and chutzpah to fight back in a dictatorship. If you’re worried about this being neutered or sillified in the translation, note that Murphy has retained Doctorow as a consultant for the feature adaptation. Why not go the whole hog and have him write a draft?

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