Based off a true story: The Major Motion Picture 'Adam'

This letter was shared with every team member in September 2020 from Dan Gilbert, Founder and Chairman of Quicken Loans, Rock Holdings Inc.

Woodward Original, a company part of our portfolio, has produced a major motion picture in partnership with Gilbert Films, a production company based in Los Angeles who lent its expertise to the project. What is even more special, though, is that the film is about the life of one of our beloved team members, Adam Niskar.

At 24 years old, Adam was at the peak of his life when one tragic mistake left him a quadriplegic. Adam worked at Quicken Loans^® for most of his professional life – from his early 20s until he passed away in July of 2017. 

I think of Adam every day. As with many of you reading this, I miss him. For those of us lucky enough to know him, he made our lives better simply by having him around. Adam touched every person he knew. If he wasn’t making you laugh, he was inspiring you by living his best life – regardless of the enormous challenges he faced every day. We watched him grow in becoming a husband and a father and I found lessons in my life every time we talked.

We have been working on this project for years. Adam kept a journal after his accident in 1999, which became the foundation of the screenplay. The majority of the movie was shot in metropolitan Detroit (including Quicken Loans’ offices) over a 4-week period in the fall of 2011. 

Just as we see the occasional mortgage get clogged up in the pipeline with unforeseen delays, so it is with the movie industry. That said, I am proud to tell you that after years of hard work and dedication, we finally released the movie this past Friday. Its title is simple, yet appropriate: Adam.

The movie truly has an all-star cast, including Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad); Jeff Daniels (one of Michigan’s favorite hometown actors), Tom Sizemore (a graduate of Groves High School), two-time Golden Globe recipient Lena Olin and Paul Walter Hauser (a native of Grand Rapids). And if you pay close attention, you’ll see a cameo from Adam Niskar himself.

I can only hope that Adam is looking down on this crazy world we live in today with his patented smirk and brilliant sense of humor. I encourage you to watch Adam on an upcoming home movie night with your friends or family so that you can get just a glimpse of what made Adam such an inspiration to us all. You might cry, but I guarantee you will laugh.

In honor of Adam Niskar,

Dan G. 

You can access Adam on Apple iTunes or Amazon Prime Video. Here are links to watch the film. 

• Adam (2020) available on Apple iTunes
• Adam (2020) available on Amazon Prime Video

In addition to iTunes and Amazon Prime, Adam is also available everywhere else on cable, satellite and digital platforms.