In this clip, Tom Hanks, producer, talks about how the film was developed. Hanks stated, “We needed to be able to show how hard it was to be alive in the 1700s, and we needed to do it also in the confines of being a counterpoint to the stuff we all know about.”

The author, David McCullogh, obviously is delighted with the way the book was portrayed. McCullough states, “They were all young. We must remember that. Jefferson was 33 when he wrote the Declaration of Independence, Adams was all of 40. They’re all winging it, they’re improvising. That’s the wonder of it, that they did it.” (Get McCullough’s book, John Adams) at Amazon)

The clip shows scenes from the various segments within this series. John Adams is portrayed by Paul Giamatti, with Laura Linney as his wife, Abigail. I’ll add more clips and information over the next few weeks as the series develops, so stay tuned! Below are a few links that may help you with understanding the history behind this film.

• HBO John Adams Site – includes information about the actors, the background behind the series, teacher and student guides, clips and more.
• The Cult of Adams – interesting commentary from The Economist.
• John Adams Biography – the White House version of John Adams.
• John Adams – the Wikipedia version of John Adams, which is much more detailed than the White House version.