Hook it & Book it: Real Life Repo

Documentary video by Dylan Sylwester, Frank Knight, Rebecca Toews

His eyes have peered through the barrel of a loaded shotgun. His skull has been on the wrong end of an airborne frying pan. Night after night he's out there "stealing" cars...but legally: Meet Jay Gates, "repoman". As long as there are debts unpaid, there will always be characters like Jay Gates. While his signature, eight-shot black, DutchBrothers coffee keeps him awake, Gates does most of his work at night by the harsh glow of his own headlights. But the economy has hit everyone hard, and even repo men are not exempt from cutbacks and hard times. The "real life repo" is far different from the scenes shown on popular television shows. This is that story.

The inspiration for this documentary came from watching an episode of "Repo Man" on cable TV. While we knew the over-the-top characters couldn't possibly be representative of the business as a whole, we were fascinated by Jay and his stories of near misses and late night hi jinx. Our cameras reveal more than the story of a repo man-- Jay welcomed our film crew in to his family and showed us much more than meets the eye. Through this documentary we aim to reveal that even those people who perform jobs that are feared or even loathed fill their lives with laughter and love.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Repo
• Documentary
• University of Oregon

[TOOGOODER]

U suck

[Dvpoet9]

Ah yes the economy is bad and business is booming for recovery agencies getting their profits off the misery of others

[RiorXD]

@dagda825 mad months ago meow:3 and besides i thought he worked alone meow:3 ive only seen a few of these and i never s him with anyone els then the camera guy so that makes one employee to my knowlegde. and im sure those trucks dont break down that often if there well taken care of meow:3

[dagda825]

@RiorXD Employees, insurance, bonds, licenses, maintenance on tow trucks [not cheap!], gas, taxes.

[rsxkindaguy]

Great video. Very well directed. Great story this is real life, not some faux reality show. A++

[hparker619]

WELL SAID EVERYONE "WAS" A REPO MAN IF THEY ONLY KNEW LOL

OH YEAH THE CHECKS IN THE MAIL / NIGHT DROP / I'LL PAY IT TOMORROW  / TELL THEM YOU CANT FIND ME / JUST TALKED TO THEM THEY SAID ITS OK TO LEAVE THE CAR ! AMI MISSING ANYTHING ?

[RiorXD]

why the hell does he need to make more then 12k to make a profit evry month. what the hell could he be spending 12k on besides gas and bills. i know i only have to pay about 300 in bills a month and then some money for food. so what does he need that money for