Bill O’Reilly’s ‘Killing Jesus’ Being Adapted by Nat Geo; Third in Fox News Star’s Series
Tuesday, 26 Mar 2013 06:18 PM

By Michael Mullins

Bill O'Reilly's soon to be released book, "Killing Jesus: A History," is set to be adapted by the National Geographic Channel, the network announced on Monday.

The decision marks the third collaboration between Nat Geo, which is owned primarily by Fox News' parent company News Corp., the popular Fox News host, and Ridley Scott's Scott Free Productions, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

"This is the big one," O'Reilly told the publication. "We really like working with Nat Geo and Scott Free because the B.S. component is very small. These guys are right on my wavelength. We get a good screenplay, we shoot it, and we put it on."

O'Reilly's "Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever," was narrated by actor Tom Hanks and starred Billy Campbell as the 16th president and Jesse Johnson as John Wilkes Booth. The docudrama aired in February and brought in a reported 3.4 million viewers for Nat Geo, a record for the cable network.

O'Reilly's "Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot," is currently in the works at Nat Geo.

Both "Killing Lincoln" and "Killing Kennedy" are on the New York Times Best Sellers List, the former on the list for 76 weeks and currently coming in at number 14, and the latter on the list for 24 weeks and coming in at number seven as of Tuesday.

All three books were co-written by O'Reilly's literary partner Martin Dugard, who O'Reilly says is primarily responsible for providing the research content of the books, while he does the writing.

In the book, "Killing Jesus," which is being published by Henry Holt and Co. with a scheduled release date of Sept. 24, O'Reilly recounts the life and times of Jesus Christ, examining both the political and historical aspects that defined his brief existence and the Christian legacy he left behind.

Nat Geo's announcement comes as the History Channel's religion-themed miniseries "The Bible" has been pulling in a reported 10 million-plus viewers every Sunday it has aired.

In an interview with Hollywood Reporter, Nat Geo's President Howard Owens praised O'Reilly's collaborative works saying: "I think the popularity of Bill's franchise speaks about how O'Reilly and Dugard are turning the notch up at every possible opportunity with these new accounts of history."

"Killing Lincoln proved our audience's response to factual drama," said Owens. "The audacity of these books is in the way Bill thinks and tells a story. We think it fits really well with the history of the Bible, and we've had a lot of success in the religious genre."

A production schedule for "Killing Jesus" hasn't been announced.


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This is utterly ridiculous, and I would assume somewhat upsetting to Christians around the world. I am not about to get in an argument about this, but it seems like there are other stories that O'Reilly could mention . . . maybe like "Killing Garfield"

Jim Bishop wrote (long before O'Reilly)
1. The Day Lincoln Was Shot
2. The Day Kennedy Was Shot
3. The Day Christ Died
4. The Day Christ Was Born
5. FDR's Last Year

wonder what Bill's next book will be?

Give O'Reilly one thing, he knows what will sell. I am afraid that the Death of Jesus will sell like hotcakes, for good or ill, and cement him as the heir to Jim Bishop for the next half century.

Unfortunately, I believe that Mr. Richter is 100% correct. I have a bet going with a friend that the next book in the series will be Killing bin Laden...

I just want to know if Erik is going to be working on this latest project...

(03-27-2013 12:01 PM)Gene C Wrote:  Jim Bishop wrote (long before O'Reilly)
1. The Day Lincoln Was Shot
2. The Day Kennedy Was Shot
3. The Day Christ Died
4. The Day Christ Was Born
5. FDR's Last Year

wonder what Bill's next book will be?

Gene, You are right on about Jim Bishop. I believe I have read all of Jim's books and enjoyed everyone of them. I also would buy any future book or books he writes without hesitation. To me O'Reilly will never be a Jim Bishop! Best Gary P.

Boy,O'Reilly really knows how to make a buck! I wonder how much goes to his favorite charity?

I think we know the answer to that one, Herb. What's amazing to me is that he gets by with the minimum amount of work, basically re-arranging research and information provided in better books by better authors and also passing along worn-out theories. Another sign of the times as to what the public will accept.

Gary, if Jim Bishop writes another book, I'll be the first to buy it, since he died in 1987! All kidding aside, I really did enjoy his Day Lincoln was Shot.

I seem to remember hearing that 100% of O'Reilly's book proceeds go to a charity or combination of charities. Not going to swear to that, though!

--Jim

If he is donating to worthy causes, I will give him a small reprieve. I would be happier, of course, if his work benefited the history world as well - and I mean intellectually here.

And you will either love me or hate me for this (what else is new?), but I do agree with many of Mr. O'Reilly's opinions on the real world. His personality makes me grit my teeth, but that's half of what keeps him on the air. I just wish he wouldn't pass himself off as a dedicated historian.

(03-27-2013 07:01 PM)L Verge Wrote:  I just wish he wouldn't pass himself off as a dedicated historian.

Wow. I don't think O'Reilly could convince anyone he's one of those!

I haven't read his Killing Lincoln book, but have read enough about it on this forum to decide it wouldn't be for me. I read one of his earlier books simply because it was a gift from a family member.

I can't even remember the title, but I remember it was set in very large type to pad out the page count of the thing.

That's usually a big tip-off!

--Jim

Lets see...killing Lincoln, Kennedy, and Jesus. Who's left? Killing MLK? If that turns out to be true, remember I called it first here on this Forum.

O'Reilly definitely has a racket going.

There are so many that could be added to the tastelessly-named "Killing" series, besides MLK and Garfield:

Killing McKinley
Killing [Harvey] Milk
Killing RFK
Killing Lennon
Killing [Lee Harvey] Oswald
Killing Malcolm X
Killing [Yitzak] Rabin
[Nearly] Killing FDR (This would date back to when he was the President-Elect in '33; someone tried to assassinate him but got the Mayor of Miami instead.)
[Nearly] Killing Reagan
Killing the Rosenbergs
Killing Sacco and Vanzetti
Killing [Huey] Long
Killing Mussolini
Killing Caesar
Killing Marie Antoinette
Killing Socrates
Killing Czar Alexander II (1861)
Killing Czar Nicholas II (1918)

It actually could be an interesting series, if O'Reilly wanted to stretch the theme a bit, internationalize it, examine whether certain allegedly lawful executions could be - with hindsight - considered murder, etc. But, nah. He just wants to have the top hit on the Hot 100. "Da Doo Ron Ron," anyone?

---

And:

Killing [Medgar] Evers
Killing Schwerner, Chaney and Goodman [see: 1964, Philadelphia Mississippi]
Killing My Appetite

(03-27-2013 05:31 PM)Jim Page Wrote:  Gary, if Jim Bishop writes another book, I'll be the first to buy it, since he died in 1987! All kidding aside, I really did enjoy his Day Lincoln was Shot.

I seem to remember hearing that 100% of O'Reilly's book proceeds go to a charity or combination of charities. Not going to swear to that, though!

--Jim

Jim, Sorry for the error. I knew that he passed away but my meaning was that I would buy anything he wrote before buying O'Reilly's redone books. I think he gets away with his work because of who he is and his T.V. program. Again my apologies to both you and Mr. Bishop. Best Gary P.

Hey, Gary! I was positive you knew Bishop was deceased! And this thread reminded me that it's probably time to re-read his books on my shelf. He was a very good writer, as I recall.

Liz, your "Bill O'Reilly To-Do List" cracked me up!

--Jim