Tom Hanks to Narrate Killing Lincoln

Killing Lincoln Book CoverOscar winner Tom Hanks is on board to host and narrate Killing Lincoln for the National Geographic Channel. The film is based on the bestselling book Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever written by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard and tells the story of Lincoln’s assassination by John Wilkes Booth.
 
The film is executive produced by Tony and Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions and will be directed by Adrian Moat (the TV documentary Gettysburg).
 
“It’s odd to say the killing of Abraham Lincoln is an unknown story, but it may as well be,” explained Hanks said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “The depth of the intrigue, the breadth of the conspiracy and the bare-naked exposure of human nature is so timeless, it’s a wonder how that seminal tragedy in our history could ever be explained in a few sentences: ‘Ford’s Theater… John Wilkes Booth,’ etc. The murder of Lincoln is not a passage of our history — it was a signpost of our American character, then, now and forever.”
 
“Only Hanks can add that unique poise, intrigue and dynamism that are his trademark to a film about one of the most significant, life-changing events in America’s young history,” stated producer Ridley Scott. “His mastery always shines through and we can’t wait for viewers to be engrossed in this story.”
 
Billy Campbell (The Killing) plays President Lincoln and Jesse Johnson stars as John Wilkes Booth. National Geographic will air Killing Lincoln in 2013.