National Geographic teams with Bill O'Reilly again for 'Killing Jesus' adaptation
National Geographic is teaming up with TV personality and author Bill O鈥橰eilly again to adapt his newest book for television.
O鈥橰eilly鈥檚 forthcoming book 鈥淜illing Jesus,鈥� which is due out this September, will be adapted for television by National Geographic, the channel which also took on adaptations of O鈥橰eilly鈥檚 previous books 鈥淜illing Lincoln鈥� and 鈥淜illing Kennedy.鈥� National Geographic will be working with director and producer Ridley Scott鈥檚 company, Scott Free Productions.
The book and TV adaptation will tell the story of Jesus 鈥渁s a beloved and controversial young revolutionary brutally killed by Roman soldiers" and will also recount "the seismic political and historical events that made his death inevitable and the changes that his life brought upon the world for the centuries to follow,鈥� according to National Geographic.
Scott, whose production company has worked with O鈥橰eilly and National Geographic on the previous two adaptations, told that he is 鈥減rivileged鈥� to be teaming up again with National Geographic to adapt O鈥橰eilly鈥檚 work.聽
鈥淥'Reilly has proven with 鈥楰illing Lincoln' and 鈥楰illing Kennedy' that the public is fascinated with the tragic tales of these renowned historical figures, and this is one of the most dramatic stories ever told," Scott said.聽
The book version of 鈥淜illing Jesus,鈥� for which O鈥橰eilly is teaming up again with his co-author Martin Dugard, is due out Sept. 24. The televised adaptation has a projected air date of 2014.
鈥淜illing Lincoln鈥� aired this February on the National Geographic channel and set a ratings record for the channel, with 3.4 million viewers tuning in 鈥� the biggest audience the channel has ever had. "The Killing" and "The Rocketeer" actor Billy Campbell portrayed Abraham Lincoln and actor Tom Hanks narrated. The adaptation of 鈥淜illing Kennedy鈥� is currently in preproduction.
鈥淭his is the big one," O'Reilly said of 鈥淜illing Jesus鈥� in an interview with the . "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.鈥�
