On March 30, 1981, six shots were fired from a .22-caliber pistol at the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. On one side of the gun: a deranged John Hinckley Jr., misguided by his obsession with Jodie Foster. On the other side: President Ronald Reagan. Though Hinckley failed in his assassination attempt, the violent assault succeeded in changing the presidency, a man, and his marriage.
Based on the best-selling book by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, KILLING REAGAN charts the events that led to this moment of national terror, and the unexpected imprints it made on history. “It’s a riveting period of history,” says O’Reilly, “with effects that reverberated through the whole world.”
KILLING REAGAN is the fourth installment of the series, following Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, and Killing Jesus, which have earned multiple Emmy nominations.
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The film covers the event that sent the White House—and the nation—into a chaos, rewriting the course of history: The president’s popularity surged during his recovery, and the assassination attempt forever changed the intimate dynamics of his marriage.
“This isn’t so much a political thriller as it is a psychological thriller,” explains director Rod Lurie. “We get deep into the head of Reagan and get even deeper into the heart of his love story with Nancy. We get into Hinckley’s insanity, but we also get into the tick-tock of the environment that drove him to want to murder Reagan.”
National Geographic Channel's world premiere television movie event "Killing Reagan" airs tonight at 8/7c.
This content was produced by The National Geographic Channel and not by The Daily Beast editorial staff.
