How a Canadian car wash ended up in the latest Netflix hit
Imagine Arnold Schwarzenegger entering your car wash. The floor sinks down and his car simply disappears into a long tunnel. You must be dreaming, right? For car wash owner Mike Black this script became reality. His Valet Car Wash was used for the latest Netflix-series Fubar.
Fubar is the current hit on Netflix, where former bodybuilder and state governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (75) makes a welcome return as an actor. In the 8-episode series, he plays an almost retired CIA-agent who finds out his daughter is also working for the company. In the second episode of the series, we see how they secretly enter the CIA headquarters. Via a car wash, which has a hidden tunnel underneath. Black’s Valet Car Wash.
So how did the producers find Black’s beautiful car wash? Through so-called location scouts, we learn. People who roam the world for great filming locations. One day they showed up at Valet Car Wash in Mississauga (Ontario), which is owned by Canadian Mike Black. “At first I was a bit reluctant and suggested a few other car washes they could approach. We get numerous calls for this type of thing and it’s kind of a big interruption for your business.”
Bodybuilding
But the scouts returned, insisting Black’s one was best. When he asked for some more information they mentioned Arnold Schwarzenegger, and this changed everything. “I’m a big fan of his bodybuilding and wellness past. Imagine, he’s 75 years old and is still making action movies!”
Black’s not really sure why they liked his car wash so much, even though we at Carwashpro think it is rather beautiful and iconic. “It may have something to do with the way it is laid out. We have a fairly long driveway, so there was enough space for all the equipment they brought. Plus we also have plenty of space inside. We bring the cars inside to wash them because of our harsh winter climate.”
The film team also used some premises across the street for shooting, which in Fubar functions as the CIA-headquarters.
No pushback
In the end, the disruption of the car wash operation wasn’t that bad, Mike Black says. “They basically filmed a whole day. There was some preparation they did a few days before and a bit of cleaning up on the day after. But it wasn’t more disrupting than when you close for a day of maintenance.”
His biggest fear was pushback. “It’s easy to calculate all the money you will not make on that day. It’s less easy to calculate what it will cost you in terms of goodwill. A potential client might go to a competitor to wash his car, only to never return again. So I put that into the amount of compensation as well.”
Free publicity
The owner of Valet Car Wash was smart enough to let the producers use the actual company name, which is all over the screen during the particular scene. “That was important to us. They actually added a few props. They made a kiosk in front of the car wash and put up some signage. They even made brochures and showed our logo on the app they use.”
None of the original staff was used for the scene though. It was mainly about the location. “Though they dressed up their actors in our Valet-uniforms, which was neat.”
According to Black, the postproduction and special effects are amazing. But he was mostly shocked about how much work goes into a scene which lasts exactly 27 seconds. “It is simply mind-boggling. Hundreds of people were working that day.”
Recognition
Would he do it again? Black’s not sure. “The recognition that you actually run a beautiful car wash certainly helps. But it’s not something I want to do on a regular basis.”
Apart from all the free publicity, Valet Car Wash might get extra traffic in the future from hundreds of Schwarzenegger-fans wanting to visit all the Fubar filming locations.
When you enter this particular Valet Car Wash in the future, make sure to order the ‘Premium Wax’ treatment.
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