Two interesting story purchases today, one is about America's first spy Nathan Hale and the second has three children searching for Edison's secrets.

Warner Brothers have bought the rights to journalist M. WIlliam Phelps' upcoming biography on Nathan Hale, an American Revolutionary hero and spy who was executed by the British in 1776. His statue is in the grounds of the CIA headquarters, representing a lovely reminder of American-British relations.

He is alleged to have spoken the line "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." before being hanged, and is widely believed to be the first recognised spy. Hale had volunteered to be sent behind the lines of the British to find out the scale and movement of their troops.

The film will adapt the book For the Sake of Liberty: America's First Spy, which is set to reveal new information on the man and events of that time, according to Variety they want to produce an "exciting spy story". Oh dear.

The Alchemy Papers is a speculative script written by Geoff Watson and Adele Griffin which is a family film where three kids search for Thomas Edison's formula that turns metal into gold, and one of the kids happens to be Edison's great-great-grandson. Producers Arnold and Anne Kopelson have bought the script to work on a polish before taking it to studios to try and sell. The story comes from Variety.