search

The Real Deal Logo

Trending

Housing deal finally passes; here are the detailsHousing deal finally passes; here are the detailsLawmakers reach sweeping housing deal with “good cause eviction,” new 421aLawmakers reach sweeping housing deal with “good cause eviction,” new 421aHow Hochul played the “good cause eviction” game, and wonHow Hochul played the “good cause eviction” game, and wonDevelopers have a new tax break. Now they must figure it outDevelopers have a new tax break. Now they must figure it out
New York

Real estate’s ‘Hunger Games’?

May the odds be ever in your favor: Former NYC broker set to release third industry thriller with movie adaptation in the works

The “Hunger Games” trilogy swept the nation a few years back when it hit bookshelves.      

Can a commercial real estate industry trilogy do the same?

That might be a long shot, but like the “Hunger Games,” author Adam Gittlin — a one-time broker at SL Green Realty — could have a movie deal for his fictionalized version of the high-stakes NYC commercial real estate world.

Gittlin, now a principal at his family’s investment firm, is set to publish “Deal Master” early this month. But Amber Entertainment, a London-based production company, is already at work on the movie adaption of “The Deal,” the first book in Gittlin’s series, he said. The movie comes as another real estate book, Vicky Ward’s “The Liar’s Ball,” is also being adapted for the silver screen.

Gittlin packs his stories with detailed explanations of industry practices, and provides handy definitions of real estate jargon — a beginner’s primer of sorts.

The trilogy, which follows protagonist broker Jonah Gray, is sprinkled with juicy tidbits about Russian oligarchs, old New York real estate dynasties, unlimited expense accounts, sex and drugs.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

“The money involved, the companies involved — it’s racy, crazy, fascinating,” said Gittlin, who worked at SL Green between 1997 and 2001. “I tend to sensationalize the personal stories, but the real estate aspects I try to stay pretty true to.”

Gittlin squeezes in writing between his duties at Manhattan-based Gittlin Companies Inc., which owns real estate but also invests in tech and biotech startups and holds a stake in a printing and marketing firm in South Florida, he said.

In 2011, the group sold 21 Penn Plaza, also known as 360 West 31st Street, to the Feil Organization and Chris Schlank’s Savanna for $137.5 million.

Gittlin said he wishes he had more time to write but pulls out his laptop early in the morning, late at night, and on airplanes during his frequent trips between New York and Florida. “I never needed to sleep all that much,” he said.

Two more installments in the series are expected, with the next due in 2017. Plot points for the fifth book have already been outlined.

As for the film adaptation of the first book, a rewritten script will be sent to potential directors soon. “The key is to find the right director,” Gittlin said, “and then everything else should fall into place.”