Even if it's just a little shot in the arm, Amir Makled is pleased to get some extra business from the local show biz.
Makled owns Checker Collision on Trumbull Boulevard near Woodbridge Pub in Woodbridge where he employs four people. Most of his work is local, such as fixing cars for the likes of
ABC Cabs. Recently his garage got a job connected to the the shooting of "Betty Anne Waters," the new movie starring Hilary Swank.
The movie, which recently shot in Detroit, turned one of ABC's cabs into a Boston Police Department cruiser. Checker Collision got the job of turning the 2004 Ford Crown Victoria back into a cab. It wasn't a huge contract, but it's also $700 the small business didn't have before.
"We're just a mom-and-pops shop," Makled says. "We'll take any extra business we can get."
The
Detroit Film Office and
Wayne County Film Initiative have been pushing to get more local business integrated into the flood of movie shoots. More and more movies have been coming to Michigan since the state passed generous film incentives last year. That has produced millions of dollars in spin-off business for local companies.
Source: Amir Makled, owner of Checker Collision
Writer: Jon Zemke
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