Where Film and Auto Body Shops Collide by Ed Attanasio
of hiking the Appalachian Trail. In another one, the shop fails an EPA inspection and is threatened with a potential shutdown.
A few years back, a British company produced a comedy series about life in an auto body shop that dealt with all of the crazy and wacky things that can happen in this industry. The characters they created were classic. First, there was the boisterous semi-retired owner who was well-known for randomly dropping in to yell and throw things. Then, there was the manager who spends all of his time hiding from the owner while taking it out on the shop’s employees. The techs are an interesting group, all in their 40s and all working on flat rate, so it’s a dog-eat-dog environment. The painters are all spraying solvent and constantly lobbying for waterborne, and everyone there calls the front office “Drama In 2007, a production company created a sitcom, “American Body Shop,” but after one Central.” short season of nine episodes, it was not Imagine “Taxi” meets “Cheers” renewed. Credit: IMDb with a lot of soap opera thrown in. Any of this sound familiar? Eventually, poor ratings shut It might just work, but getting this series down, even though it any TV series greenlit in today’s had some excellent acting, notably Hollywood can be difficult, though from Nick Offerman, who went on Spec Ad chanOrder to fame starring in “Parks & Recremany of the newer streaming nels―Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Pea- ation.” The creator, Sam Greene, cock, etc.―are constantly searching broke all the rules by filming the piSales for Rep:fresh lot Norman Morano for new ideas and hungry and then sending it around to the content. Maybe a sitcom about the networks, which rarely works. But Advertiser: collision repair industry could be in this case, it did―at least for one done in an animated like season. Kenseries, Vangorder “Family Guy” or “TheVolkswagen Simpsons”?of Kingston Body shops have appeared in a In 2007, a production 1249 company Ulster Ave lot of movies. In most cases, nefaricreated a series, “American ous and highly illegal things happen KingstonBody NY 12401 Shop,” for a one-season run of845-336-5300x4 nine there. There were body shops in “The Phone: Fax: 845-336-7436 episodes. The storyline featured Wolf of Wall Street,” “Mad Max” Desert Body & Custom, anDate: auto2/15/2021 (“You bend it, we mend it.”), “CorToday’s body shop in Phoenix, AZ, described vette Summer” and “Christine”―I on IMDb as “the professional almostw/forgot Biglisting Pussy had a shop Ad type: home quarter page VW DLP for a bunch of twisted (and bent and in “The Sopranos.” sometimes, smashed) characters, InDesigner: the Canadian series, “The Instructions to Graphic including Sam, the owner; Rob, a Trailer Park Boys,” the main chartechnician whose solutions usu-information acters start body shop, 1)Use are all the in hisa 8th page specSuccess ad. ally much more complicated than Auto Body & Repair, in an episode any problem; Johnny, a displaced “Countdown to Liquor Day.” 2)Use the Liberty titled VW Qtr page ad template (and very kinky) Brooklynite; Tim, After being released from prison, who has a penchant for inapproprithe boys startParts a body shop, 3)Include the network logos: Trader, OEfiguring ate pranks; Luis, a Peruvian immithey learned collision repair while in Connection, OPS Trax and Collision Link grant who feigns a lack of English to prison. But, as we all know, it’s not mask a mysterious personality; and bullet that easy andinthe 4)Use the same points theTrailer LibertyPark VW Boys Denise, the harried receptionist who failed terribly. ad. Please don’t use the bullet point in the can barely tolerate her coworkers.” Film producer Jose Herrera existing 8th page spec ad. In one of the first episodes, the of Mio Productions in Silicon Valshop’s owner, Sam, decides to sell ley has an impressive resume in film Thanks, the business and pursue his dream that includes producing award-win56 SEPTEMBER 2021 AUTOBODY NEWS / autobodynews.com Norm
ning films. He believes a body shop would be an outstanding setting for either a reality show or a sitcom, and that’s why he is working on a screenplay and a treatment for a dramatic series. “The environment in a busy body shop, with a whole slew of characters who all have their own agendas, is perfect for TV,” Herrera said. “The David vs. Goliath relationship between the insurance companies and the collision repair industry is ideal for the screen because every protagonist needs at least one villain. Then, of course, you have the customers, each with their own backstory as well.” Herrera knows he wants to depict a body shop as accurately as he can, so he started hanging out in shops until the pandemic hit. “I want to pick up the vibe and meet these people. Every shop needs that one old technician who is fighting new technology and another younger one who is excited about doing things a little more out-of-the-box,” Herrera said. “New technology has changed
the industry on many levels and a lot of shops are struggling to catch up, so that is another angle we want to include in both of our concepts.” Has Herrera thought of any particular actors or actresses to be cast in his proposed series? “We won’t have a huge budget, so we will probably be going with some new, unproven people,” he said. “In a perfect world, I’d love to have someone like Matt Damon or Matthew McConaughey as the shop owner, Bill Hader or Jim Carrey as technicians, Steve Buscemi as the painter and Melissa McCarthy running the front office. That would be awesome!”
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