Entertainment

Bible boom: CNN wanted O’Reilly’s ‘Killing Jesus’

TESTAMENT: Bill O’Reilly’s “Killing Jesus” to be a Nat Geo movie. (
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God is hot again.

Fox News Channel host Bill O’Reilly’s upcoming book “Killing Christ” is set for the National Geographic Channel sometime next year.

It follows the astonishing success of “The Bible” on the History channel — which ends a record-breaking, five-week run Sunday night.

Work on “Killing Christ” — the third in a series of best-selling books about history-making murders — began months ago, before “The Bible” debuted earlier this month.

Because Nat Geo had pulled big ratings with its TV movie of “Killing Lincoln,” also by O’Reilly, a bidding war broke out over the movie rights to the Jesus book, sources in Hollywood said yesterday.

Among the most aggressive bidders was — surprisingly — CNN, the sources said.

Jeff Zucker, the new head of the news channel, bid as much as $2.5 million for rights to the book.

The Jesus movie will be produced — as the other O’Reilly movies are — by Ridley Scott, the director of “Blade Runner.”

Zucker learned of the Jesus movie through Scott, who is also making a series called “Crimes of the Century” for CNN, according to the sources.

CNN, now the No. 3 news channel, is in the throes of a deep overhaul, dumping old faces and hiring familiar personalities from broadcast network news departments.

That Zucker would bid for a Bible story — and one written by the biggest name at a rival news channel — is a sign of how far-reaching the changes might be.

While a movie about the crucifixion of Christ seems an odd choice for CNN, it is a more predictable fit for Nat Geo — which has been on a roll in recent months.

“Killing Lincoln,” the channel’s first scripted program, drew 3.5 million viewers in its first showing, the biggest rating in its history.

The second book in the O’Reilly series, “Killing Kennedy,” is set air later this year.

O’Reilly announced “Killing Jesus” last month, two weeks before “The Bible” debut, as the latest in his best-selling series.