National Geographic Channel Partners With Scott Free Productions To Produce Best-Selling Author Bill O'Reilly Follow-up 'Killing Kennedy'

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the tremendous success of the National Geographic Channel's first feature film SEAL Team Six and in anticipation of the upcoming world premiere of Killing Lincoln in February 2013, National Geographic Channel President Howard T. Owens announced today that the network once again will join forces with Scott Free Productions to produce a two-hour film based on "Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot," Bill O'Reilly's latest New York Times best-selling book with co-author Martin Dugard.

The two-hour factual drama will stay true to the narrative storytelling devices used by O'Reilly in the book, which recounts the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy — and how a sequence of gunshots in Dallas not only killed a beloved president, but also propelled the nation into the Vietnam War and a cultural change. 

"The common parallels between Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy are astonishing, with both assassinations profoundly changing the nation during crucial moments in its history.  It made perfect sense that my follow-up to Lincoln would naturally lead to Kennedy," said author Bill O'Reilly.  "While Kennedy's assassination continues to garner many conspiracy theories, our story is based on facts, some that haven't been publicly known. And with National Geographic Channel and Scott Free once again at the helm, I have the utmost trust and faith that they will bring the story of Kennedy and Camelot to life."

Production on the two-hour television event will begin this spring, combining rare historical insights and archives with dramatic and emotionally engaging storytelling in the signature style of the Scott brothers. Casting news will be announced shortly. 

The special will premiere globally on the National Geographic Channel in 171 countries and 38 languages.

"Collaborating with National Geographic on Bill O'Reilly's follow-up was an easy decision. They share the same passion of storytelling, willing to take creative leaps and risks to keep viewers entertained to tell the provocative story of Kennedy's last days, a pivotal and historic moment," said Ridley Scott.

"With the tremendous success of SEAL Team Six, our first feature film, and the growing excitement over this February's premiere of Killing Lincoln, producing Bill O'Reilly's follow-up was a no-brainer and will be yet another story that will resonate with our audience," said Owens.  "As Scott Free Productions continue to be perfect partners — taking risks and breaking new ground in storytelling — we are claiming a stake in producing factual dramas, delivering entertainment with substance."

About 'Killing Kennedy':
More than a million readers have thrilled to Bill O'Reilly's Killing Lincoln, the page-turning work of nonfiction about the shocking assassination that changed the course of American history. Now the anchor of The O'Reilly Factor recounts in gripping detail the brutal murder of John Fitzgerald Kennedy—and how a sequence of gunshots on a Dallas afternoon not only killed a beloved president but also sent the nation into the cataclysmic division of the Vietnam War and its culture-changing aftermath.

In January 1961, as the Cold War escalates, John F. Kennedy struggles to contain the growth of Communism while he learns the hardships, solitude, and temptations of what it means to be president of the United States. Along the way he acquires a number of formidable enemies, among them Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, and Alan Dulles, director of the Central Intelligence Agency.  In addition, powerful elements of organized crime have begun to talk about targeting the president and his brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy.

In the midst of a 1963 campaign trip to Texas, Kennedy is gunned down by an erratic young drifter named Lee Harvey Oswald. The former Marine Corps sharpshooter escapes the scene, only to be caught and shot dead while in police custody.

The events leading up to the most notorious crime of the twentieth century are almost as shocking as the assassination itself. Killing Kennedy chronicles both the heroism and deceit of Camelot, bringing history to life in ways that will profoundly move the reader.  This may well be the most talked about book of the year.

About Bill O'Reilly:
Bill O'Reilly is the anchor of "The O'Reilly Factor," the highest-rated cable news show in the country. He also writes a syndicated newspaper column and is the author of several number-one best-selling books. He is perhaps the most talked-about political commentator in America.

About Scott Free Productions:
Scott Free Productions was formed in 1995 and is the film and television production vehicle of acclaimed film directors: brothers Ridley and Tony Scott. Scott Free Television produces the Emmy® and Golden Globe®-nominated, Peabody acclaimed drama, The Good Wife for CBS which is currently enjoying its fourth season, and the eight-hour adaptation of World Without End, Ken Follett's international best-seller featuring Cynthia Nixon, Ben Chaplin and Miranda Richardson on Reelz. Scott Free also produced the recent four-hour adaptation of Robin Cook's Coma for A&E, starring Geena Davis, James Woods, Richard Dreyfuss and Ellen Burstyn, the Emmy® and Golden Globe®-nominated mini-series The Pillars of The Earth for Starz, the hit CBS show NUMB3RS, which ran for six seasons, the Emmy®-nominated mini-series The Andromeda Strain, starring Benjamin Bratt and Viola Davis, also for A&E, as well as the Golden Globe® nominated The Company for TNT featuring Michael Keaton and Alfred Molina.

Productions in prep for 2013 include the film event Reykjavik, starring Michael Douglas as Ronald Reagan and Christoph Waltz as Mikhail Gorbachev, about the historic meeting between the two leaders which instigated the end of the Cold War; Klondike, Discovery Channel1s first ever scripted mini-series, based on Charlotte Gray1s book, about six strangers' fight for survival and wealth in a small, frontier boom town; and, for Showtime, The Vatican from Oscar® nominated writer Paul Attanasio, a modern-day political thriller, with Ridley Scott at the helm of his first-ever television pilot.

In addition to scripted fare, Scott Free has firmly established its nonfiction presence by producing the epic Emmy®-winning documentary Gettysburg for History Channel, and the upcoming documentary Killing Lincoln for National Geographic Channel.

Scott Free has offices in Los Angeles and London in conjunction with RSA Films, one of the world's largest and most successful commercial production houses.

National Geographic Channels
Based at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Channels US are a joint venture between National Geographic and Fox Cable Networks.  The Channels contribute to the National Geographic Society's commitment to exploration, conservation and education with smart, innovative programming and profits that directly support its mission.  Launched in January 2001, National Geographic Channel (NGC) celebrated its fifth anniversary with the debut of NGC HD.  In 2010, the wildlife and natural history cable channel Nat Geo WILD was launched, and in 2011, the Spanish-language network Nat Geo Mundo was unveiled.  The Channels have carriage with all of the nation's major cable, telco and satellite television providers, with NGC currently available in 84 million U.S. homes.  Globally, National Geographic Channel is available in 440 million homes in 171 countries and 38 languages.  For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com.

SOURCE National Geographic Channel