Key Moments In President Kennedy’s Presidency
Rob Lowe Portrays the 35th President In
KILLING KENNEDY
Based on the #1 Best-Selling Book by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, the Latest Instalment of the Thrilling Trilogy Debuts on Blu-rayTM and DVD February 11
Produced by Golden Globe® winners* Tony Scott (Unstoppable, Cyrus) and Ridley Scott (Prometheus, American Gangster), Kennedy’s legacy lives on 50 years later as National Geographic’s KILLING KENNEDY arrives on Blu-rayTM and DVD February 11 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment – timed to President’s Day.
Showcasing a phenomenal cast including Rob Lowe as John F. Kennedy, Will Rothhaar as Lee Harvey Oswald, Michelle Trachtenberg as Marina Oswald, and Ginnifer Goodwin as Jackie Kennedy, KILLING KENNEDY is based on The New York Times best-selling novel. The film traces the chilling events leading up to the gunshot heard around the world: the assassination of President John F. Kennedy by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas in 1963.
For his role as President Kennedy in KILLING KENNEDY, Lowe received a SAG Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie.
In KILLING KENNEDY, we are reminded of domestic and global events that President Kennedy reacted and responded to that inevitably shaped current global policy. Below we outline a few key moments that took place during the Kennedy presidency that changed our country, and our worldview:
The Peace Corps
On March 1, 1961, President Kennedy, fulfills a campaign pledge, and issues an executive order to create the Peace Corps as a mission to promote peace and friendship. He asks Congress to authorize the program permanently and appoints Sargent Shriver to head the organization. Today, the Peace Corps is a leader in international development and citizen diplomacy across more than 139 countries. The organization is more vital than ever, working in collaboration with partner organizations, using cutting edge technologies as well as well-tested best practices to enhance impact.
The Bay of Pigs
On April 15, 1961, there is a U.S.-sponsored invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. With inadequate support and facing an overwhelming force, the CIA-trained brigade of anti-Castro exiles is defeated in a few days. Kennedy takes responsibility for the disaster.
The Space Program
On May 5, 1961 Alan Shepard Jr. becomes the first American in space. In competition with the Soviet Union, the President pledges to amp up its space program and land a man on the moon by the end of the decade. On February 20, 1962, Astronaut John Glenn aboard the Mercury craft Friendship 7 became the first American to orbit the earth.
The Geneva Conference
On January 29, 1962, the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom met in Geneva as part of the Geneva Conference to decide on whether there should be a nuclear test ban. The meeting adjourns without reaching an agreement. A little over a year later, on October 7, 1963, the president signs a limited nuclear test-ban treaty with the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
On October 16, 1962, President Kennedy is informed about the existence of missiles in Cuba. Six days later, the president addresses the American people about the situation in Cuba and orders a navel quarantine of Cuba to prevent further shipments of weapons. After thirteen days, the Cuban Missile Crisis is resolved. The United States pledges not to invade in exchange for the removal of the Soviet weapons. On November 20th, President Kennedy lifts the naval blockade of Cuba. While the relationship between Cuba and the United States has drastically improved since then, we are not allies still, and the Castro family remains in power.
The Civil Rights Movement
While President Kennedy was in office, the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum with leaders like the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. On April 3, 1963, King leads a civil rights drive in Birmingham, Alabama. Police Commissioner Eugene “Bull” Connor orders the police to use fire hoses and dogs on demonstrators. A few months later, August 28, Reverend King leads on the March on Washington, which attracts 250,000 demonstrators to the nation’s capital in support of civil rights legislation. At the Lincoln Memorial, he delivers his famous and moving, “I Have a Dream” speech.
President Kennedy’s Assassination
On November 22, 1963, President Kennedy is assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. Lee Harvey Oswald is arrested and accused of the crime. Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson is sworn in as the thirty-sixth President of the United States following the assassination. The nation mourned, and continues to mourn the death and legacy of President Kennedy. Additionally, the nation’s fascination with The Kennedy’s goes global.
KILLING KENNEDY is available now on Digital HD and will hit stores on Blu-ray and DVD on February 11.
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And now for the giveaway details…the folks at Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment have given us one copy of the Killing Kennedy Blu-ray to give away to one lucky NoReruns.net reader!
In about 3 weeks, we will randomly pick the winner and contact him or her for their mailing info to forward on to the folks at Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, who will mail out the Blu-ray directly. The prize can only be shipped to an addresses within the United States and Canada, and cannot be shipped to P.O. Boxes.
