Lincoln killer not glorified in hit docu drama

MANILA, Philippines - The high-rated TV docu drama Killing Lincoln puts assassin John Wilkes Booth in spotlight, though not to the point it is already glorifying him which other films of this nature seem to have failed avoiding. 

This is what Fox Channel territory head Jude Turcuato implied during a chat with The STAR in connection with the Philippine premiere of the National Geographic Channel (NGC) movie that scored the highest NGC viewership when it was shown in the US last February. 

“I’ve seen it and they didn’t glorify the killer as he was portrayed as an angry, isolated man. You will hate him more after watching it,” he argued. 

Killing Lincoln, produced by Scott Free Productions of brother-directors Ridley and Tony Scott, draws much about Booth and his motives on killing the well-loved American President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. It dramatizes the days leading to the assassination “that Changed America Forever” and the subsequent manhunt of the perpetrators. 

More importantly, this is observed as giving an in-depth take in portraying the actor-turned-murderer Booth, played by actor Jesse Johnson who is hailed for his breakthrough performance. 

Turcuato explained, “The Hollywood flavor, Lincoln being a hot subject these days, its high production value make this the highest rated show for National Geographic. Not to mention it is historically accurate.” 

Based on the Killing Lincoln book by controversial Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, the docu drama is narrated by two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks and directed by Adrian Moat who earned an Emmy-nomination for his work on Gettysburg — the 2011 historically related documentary called Gettysburg. Fifty-three-year-old actor Billy Campbell portrays Lincoln while actress Geraldine Hughes acts as First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln.

Filipino viewers will be able to judge Killing Lincoln themselves when it premieres on April 14 at 9 p.m. on National Geographic. A staggering 3.4 million viewers were glued in its American debut.

The TV project, the last for executive producer Tony Scott who died last August, extends the digital-age fascination for Lincoln highlighted by the Steven Spielberg movie that gave Daniel Day Lewis his record-setting third Best Actor Oscar trophy.