from zap2it
HBO Is 'Reclaiming History'
Net gets rights to book debunking JFK conspiracies
Sixteen years after Oliver Stone's "JFK" gave voice to conspiracy
theories about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, HBO is readying
its own epic take on the case -- and coming down emphatically on the
other side.
The cable network has acquired the rights to Vincent Bugliosi's book
"Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy,"
which aims to debunk any and all theories that some shadowy cabal
plotted Kennedy's death in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.
HBO will turn the book into a 10-part miniseries to be executive
produced by Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman and Bill Paxton, the "Big Love"
star who brought the book to Goetzman and Hanks. The two are executive
producers of Paxton's show, as well as the upcoming HBO miniseries
"John Adams" and "The Pacific."
"We are delighted that Tom, Gary and Bill brought this amazing project
to HBO," HBO Films president Colin Callender says. "The successful
creative partnership we have enjoyed with them over the years imbues
us with a confidence, an excitement and the knowledge that Bugliosi's
riveting book will make a very powerful transition to the screen."
Bugliosi's door-stopping, 1,600-page book systematically takes apart
the various conspiracy theories around the JFK assassination and
re-argues the case that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. The former L.A.
deputy district attorney is known for his prosecution of Charles
Manson and his subsequent book about the case, "Helter Skelter."
As an 8-year-old, Paxton witnessed Kennedy's appearance in Fort Worth,
Texas, earlier on the day of his murder. He calls Bugliosi's book "the
greatest story that's never been told."
"With the 50th anniversaries of President Kennedy's inaugural address
[2011] and assassination [2013] looming in the next few years," Paxton
says, "we felt it was the right time to pursue this project."