Earlier today, Deadline reported that Warner Bros. closed a preemptive deal Friday night for American Blood, a 50-page proposal for a crime story by New Zealand-based bestselling author Ben Sanders for Macmillan Entertainment.

Macmillan will publish the book in fall 2015. Andrew Sodroski will adapt the book into the script. Bradley Cooper will produce and star in the movie through his 22nd & Indiana company.

“At least one other studio had bid on the project (which is currently a partial manuscript), and several TV companies had also expressed interest,” reported The Hollywood Reporter.

“This is the first of what is planned as a series of novels about Marshall Grade, an undercover NYPD officer turned mob informant,” reported Deadline. “While living in the witness protection program in New Mexico, he is pulled into a dangerous investigation, which causes his past in New York to get wind of his whereabouts. The hope is for Cooper to play Grade. It’s another high profile project for the film shingle run by Cooper, who’s up for an Oscar for his portrayal as the perm-sporting FBI agent in American Hustle. 22nd & Indiana also developed the project about the late sniper Chris Kyle, and Clint Eastwood is directing American Sniper with Cooper playing the marksman.”

Sodroski wrote the script for Holland, Michigan, a film directed by Errol Morris. The thriller is in pre-production and set for a 2015 release. Sodroski is also the writer and producer of the 2007 video short, The Handmaid.

In other recent Hollywood news, 20th Century Fox has bought a comedy pitch titled Diplomats. Jonathan Abrams will write the script inspired by Dennis Rodman’s so-called “hoops diplomacy” mission to North Korea. Check out the ScreenCraft post here.

Also, don’t miss Chris Goss’ post Everything They Didn’t Teach You About Working In Entertainment: Dealing With Disappointment.