Hanks to revisit JFK killing in HBO miniseries

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Tom Hanks' production company has joined forces with HBO to turn Vincent Bugliosi's "Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy" into a 10-part miniseries.

In his New York Times best-seller, Bugliosi, who prosecuted Charles Manson and co-wrote "Helter Skelter," disclaims many conspiracy theories and contends that Lee Harvey Oswald was the sole party behind the 1963 Kennedy assassination.

"Seventy-five percent of the American public believes in the falsehood that there was a conspiracy in the assassination of President Kennedy, and only 19 percent accept the findings of the Warren Commission that Oswald acted alone," Bugliosi said.

He expressed confidence that Hanks' Playtone Prods. and HBO would help "reverse those numbers and finally bring the truth to the American public."

Playtone has produced such projects for HBO as the drama "Big Love" and the miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon," "Band of Brothers" and the upcoming "John Adams" and "The Pacific."

"Big Love" star Bill Paxton will executive produce with Hanks and Playtone executive Gary Goetzman. As an 8-year-old, Paxton accompanied his father and older brother to an appearance Kennedy made in Paxton's hometown of Fort Worth on November 22, 1963, just hours before his assassination in Dallas. He brought the book to Hanks and Goetzman.

"Based on the facts and evidence that Vincent Bugliosi so masterfully presents, it's a story that has haunted me and my generation our whole lives," Paxton said. "Now, with the 50th anniversaries of President Kennedy's inaugural address and assassination looming in the next few years, we felt it was the right time to pursue this project."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter