Jon Stewart Finds Next Directing Gig With Steve Carell as Top Choice to Star (EXCLUSIVE)
By Justin Kroll
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Jon Stewart looks to have found his next gig after staying off the grid since leaving “The Daily Show” in 2015 — and he’s bringing a familiar friend on board.
The former talk show host will direct “Irresistible,” a political satire based on his original idea, sources tell Variety. Sources say Steve Carell is the top choice to star, though financing and scheduling needs to be worked out first.
Plot details have yet to be revealed, but the movie will be in Stewart’s political wheelhouse. His first directing gig was 2014’s political drama “Rosewater,” which centered on journalist Maziar Bahari, who was detained by Iranian forces who brutally interrogated him under suspicion that he was a spy.
Stewart will also produce, along with Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment. Sources say the project is in the beginning stages of development as financiers and distributors come on board. It is currently unknown when production will start.
Stewart and Carell have ties dating back to “The Daily Show” before Carell became everyone’s favorite TV boss on NBC’s “The Office.” After starring in comedies like “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” Carell forayed into drama with “Foxcatcher” and “The Big Short.” Up next, he will appear in Amazon’s “Beautiful Boy” alongside Timothee Chalamet. Carell also has Universal’s “Welcome to Marwen” and Adam McKay’s “Vice,” the biopic about former VP Dick Cheney.
Since leaving “The Daily Show,” the industry has been intrigued by what Stewart will do next as the comedian, for the most part, has stayed out of the public spotlight. He did at one point sign a deal with HBO to develop an animated series, but that was eventually scrapped due to difficult production deadlines. Stewart instead headlined the HBO special “Night of Too Many Stars” last November.
Stewart is represented by UTA, Dixon Talent, and lawyer Hansen Jacobson. Carell is repped by WME and Media Four.
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