Vampire novel Blood Oath getting movie treatment

Blood Oath,a vampire action novel that hits stores,is headed to the big screen. A mix of political techno thrills and supernatural action,Oath centers on a vampire captured by the U.S. Army just after the Civil War who is forced to swear an oath to President Andrew Johnson and has protected the presidency in the Secret Service for nearly 150 years. In Oath,the vampire,named Nathaniel Cade,is paired with a new human handler and finds himself embroiled in a plot involving a monstrous new form of biological weapon with a connection to the White House.

The book,written by Christopher Farnsworth,is being published by Penguin/Putnam. Lucas Foster and his Warp Films have picked up the film rights. “It always starts with the character for me,” said Foster,the producer behind thrillers Law Abiding Citizen and Mr. And Mrs. Smith. “Cade has an amazing history,a great attitude and a great set of powers. He is a complete movie figure.”

There is no lack of vampire projects circulating in Hollywood these days,and the idea of a vampire James Bond could easily be seen as too high-concept. But the book has been getting good reviews — it bucks vampire fatigue by focusing on action and bringing in different supernatural creatures — and Foster credits Farnsworth for pulling it off. “It’s a big idea and it’s an idea that in the wrong hands could have been cheesy,” Foster said. “He did a very good job of making the reader,and me,buy it. It’s the right tone between thriller and improbable fantasy.”

Foster has picked up the rights for Oath and its follow-up,Black Site,which Farnworth is still writing,and will develop scripts for them simultaneously. Farnsworth will work with a screenwriter to help guide the look and feel of the scripts and receive an executive producer credit.