# Jon Stewart taking 12-week "Daily Show" break to direct a movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 5, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-taking-12-week-daily-show-break-to-direct-a-movie/652118 "2013-03-05T21:07:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-taking-12-week-daily-show-break-to-direct-a-movie/652118/1 "2013-03-05T21:07:26Z")
Wow. The movie is called “Rosewater,” and it’s based on a book by Maziar Bahari. [He’s the comic who was thrown in jail in Iran after participating in a Daily Show piece where Jason Jones pretended to be a spy.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=541045) Supposedly the Iranian government was convinced it meant Bahari was really a spy. Of course he was eventually released, wrote the book, and appeared on The Daily Show to talk about it. The report says Stewart wrote the script, and it will start filming in Europe in June. Jon Oliver will host The Daily Show in the interim period. [http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/05/jon-stewart-to-direct-serious-film-will-take-hiatus-from-daily-show/?hp](http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/05/jon-stewart-to-direct-serious-film-will-take-hiatus-from-daily-show/?hp) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-taking-12-week-daily-show-break-to-direct-a-movie/652118/2 "2013-03-05T21:11:52Z")
Will it be Jon Oliver or the Jon Oliver Daily Show character? ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-taking-12-week-daily-show-break-to-direct-a-movie/652118/3 "2013-03-05T21:13:08Z")
Excellent! Can’t wait to see more Jon Oliver 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-taking-12-week-daily-show-break-to-direct-a-movie/652118/4 "2013-03-05T21:20:30Z")
Psst, hey guys… I know we just got used to spelling Jon Stewart’s name, but it’s [\*John \*Oliver.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Oliver_(entertainer)) ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-taking-12-week-daily-show-break-to-direct-a-movie/652118/5 "2013-03-05T21:24:52Z")
I’m sure John Oliver will do a fine job, but I really think _Senior Black Correspondent_ Larry Wilmore would do a far better one. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-taking-12-week-daily-show-break-to-direct-a-movie/652118/6 "2013-03-05T21:32:49Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Psst, hey guys… I know we just got used to spelling Jon Stewart’s name, but it’s [\*John \*Oliver.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Oliver_(entertainer)) I just assumed Marley was correct. Silly me. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-taking-12-week-daily-show-break-to-direct-a-movie/652118/7 "2013-03-05T21:42:03Z")
Sounds good. The Daily Show has gotten a little too ranty lately, so I think giving Stewart at little time to do something else is a good idea, regardless of what the other project is. And the project itself seems interesting. Who knows if Stewart will be good at movie making, but the material is certainly in his wheelhouse and the underlying story is interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-taking-12-week-daily-show-break-to-direct-a-movie/652118/8 "2013-03-05T21:44:07Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Psst, hey guys… I know we just got used to spelling Jon Stewart’s name, but it’s [\*John \*Oliver.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Oliver_(entertainer)) I say he’ll change it to Jon as a sign of respect. Or I just typed it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-taking-12-week-daily-show-break-to-direct-a-movie/652118/9 "2013-03-05T23:00:32Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Sounds good. The Daily Show has gotten a little too ranty lately, I’m not sure John Oliver will be any better. His comedy is pretty in-your-face, IMO, and lacking the friendly detached-ness that the best Daily Show stuff has. I think Senior Black Correspondent Larry Wilmore would have been a better choice, too, although I know a lot less than the actual staff of the show. I hope Oliver is good in the chair. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-taking-12-week-daily-show-break-to-direct-a-movie/652118/10 "2013-03-05T23:39:42Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Sounds good. The Daily Show has gotten a little too ranty lately, so I think giving Stewart at little time to do something else is a good idea, regardless of what the other project is. I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks this. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-taking-12-week-daily-show-break-to-direct-a-movie/652118/11 "2013-03-06T00:16:41Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Sounds good. The Daily Show has gotten a little too ranty lately, so I think giving Stewart at little time to do something else is a good idea, regardless of what the other project is. Yeah I feel the same. And I typically like Stewart when he’s ranty, but he’s gotten a little heavy handed lately, especially with the gun control and drone stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-taking-12-week-daily-show-break-to-direct-a-movie/652118/12 "2013-03-06T08:08:25Z")
> [@bup](#): > > I think Senior Black Correspondent Larry Wilmore would have been a better choice, too, although I know a lot less than the actual staff of the show. I hope Oliver is good in the chair. I rarely watch The Daily Show anymore, except for an occasional web visit. But I also agree that Larry Wilmore would be perfect in the anchor chair. John Oliver is very funny, but I think the role needs a more refined delivery than I’ve usually seen from Oliver. Wilmore has a gift for sarcasm delivered as fact. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-taking-12-week-daily-show-break-to-direct-a-movie/652118/13 "2013-03-06T12:58:04Z")
It will be an interesting experiment. Good on Stewart for trying something new. I love John Oliver as a correspondent, so it will be interesting to see how he handles the big chair. I agree that Larry Wilmore has a solid presence sparked with biting humor that could work - I would’ve picked Wyatt Cenac before he left because I always felt his humor was anchored in a basic decency which I think is core to the success of both Stewart and Colbert… ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-taking-12-week-daily-show-break-to-direct-a-movie/652118/14 "2013-03-06T20:18:13Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I would’ve picked Wyatt Cenac before he left because I always felt his humor was anchored in a basic decency which I think is core to the success of both Stewart and Colbert… Why’d he leave? Wasn’t he the head writer for a while? ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-taking-12-week-daily-show-break-to-direct-a-movie/652118/15 "2013-03-06T21:33:01Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I’m sure John Oliver will do a fine job, but I really think _Senior Black Correspondent_ Larry Wilmore would do a far better one. > [@bup](#): > > I’m not sure John Oliver will be any better. His comedy is pretty in-your-face, IMO, and lacking the friendly detached-ness that the best Daily Show stuff has. > > I think Senior Black Correspondent Larry Wilmore would have been a better choice, too, although I know a lot less than the actual staff of the show. I hope Oliver is good in the chair. > [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](#): > > I rarely watch The Daily Show anymore, except for an occasional web visit. But I also agree that Larry Wilmore would be perfect in the anchor chair. John Oliver is very funny, but I think the role needs a more refined delivery than I’ve usually seen from Oliver. Wilmore has a gift for sarcasm delivered as fact. > [@WordMan](#): > > It will be an interesting experiment. Good on Stewart for trying something new. I love John Oliver as a correspondent, so it will be interesting to see how he handles the big chair. I agree that Larry Wilmore has a solid presence sparked with biting humor that could work - I would’ve picked Wyatt Cenac before he left because I always felt his humor was anchored in a basic decency which I think is core to the success of both Stewart and Colbert… Cool to know that so many agree. I can only presume that Comedy Central is looking to spin John Oliver off on his own show, or at least increase viewership for _[John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Oliver%27s_New_York_Stand-Up_Show)_. Wilmore [appears to be very busy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Wilmore) with his own projects, including as a television producer, so it’s not like he really needs the work. Probably the main reason his segments are so great is that he’s not obligated to do something every week, and can really refine his bits. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-taking-12-week-daily-show-break-to-direct-a-movie/652118/16 "2013-03-06T21:39:54Z")
Interesting that Jon didn’t mention this on the Daily Show last night, but Stephen Colbert “covered” it - he said Jon will be replacing Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. I have always wondered how the guest host things was determined and there are a couple of good options, but I am sure it’s settled in the contracts of the correspondents. ---
**Author:** ![keeganst94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a6a055/32.png) [@keeganst94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/keeganst94)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-taking-12-week-daily-show-break-to-direct-a-movie/652118/17 "2013-03-06T22:19:58Z")
Not sure how I feel about this. I agree that Stewart has been getting a bit too ranty, and Oliver is hilarious as a correspondent, but I really like Stewarts’ interviews. Hopefully Oliver is pretty good at them too. ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-taking-12-week-daily-show-break-to-direct-a-movie/652118/18 "2013-03-07T09:50:47Z")
I think Jon Stewart has peaked. He’s taken a concept that rarely lasts and brought it to new levels. But it’s been 14 years now. We’ve become accustomed to it and familiarity breeds contempt and nitpicking. That’s not to say that he can’t be like Letterman and take it another 18 years, but I think that most of the high points have been hit. The show would benefit from a new host, but that kind of magic is rarely repeated. So I hope the directing is just a one night stand and he stays in the anchor chair for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-taking-12-week-daily-show-break-to-direct-a-movie/652118/19 "2013-03-07T23:46:14Z")
For everyone not liking the show, go without watching it for a few months, like I had to with broken Internet that just got fixed yesterday. (The problem was on their side, they finally conceded). It’s freaking hilarious. And I honestly don’t think we’ve seen a John Oliver who is not his character. He seems to me to be the same guy even in his standup, except a little less exaggerated. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-taking-12-week-daily-show-break-to-direct-a-movie/652118/20 "2013-03-08T00:09:09Z")
The big test will be the interviews. That is the one place where TDS is well above Colbert. Stewart is smart and well prepared. I wonder if Oliver will do something new, more out in the field stuff which Colbert still does but Stewart doesn’t. I hope he does more than just sit behind the desk and do jokes. And I fully agree that Willmore would have been great. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-taking-12-week-daily-show-break-to-direct-a-movie/652118.md?page=2)