Following protests from residents, the town of Livingston, Montana, temporarily suspended production of Daily Wire’s latest film, Pawnbroker.
At a special meeting Saturday, the Livingston City Commission unanimously passed a motion made by Commissioner Cindy Daniels in response to concerns raised by citizens about disruptions to businesses and the city’s only food bank, as well as lack of notice regarding some of the production’s most dangerous stunts.
“A motion to immediately and temporarily suspend the permit of Bonfire Pawn Shop LLC while seeking legal advice from the City Attorney in a timely manner to modify, suspend or revoke the permit to return to the commission no later than 5 p.m. on October 5,” the Commission concluded at Saturday’s meeting.
Deadline has contacted the film’s producers Daily Wire and Bonfire Legend for comment.
Since filming began, residents have protested the alleged use of blank shots, pyrotechnics and a staged car crash without properly informing residents and businesses, as well as the opening scene, which appears to dramatize the fatal shooting of Renée Good by ICE in Minnesota in January.
Meanwhile, the Livingston Food Resource Center (LFRC) released a statement explaining the impact of the production on its customers, who “already face many barriers to meeting their most basic needs,” adding: “Since filming began in front of our building, road closures and armed security guards have increased the barriers to accessing food. Our customers deserve to feel unequivocally safe in accessing this essential resource.”
With dangerous stunts involving pyrotechnics, Livingston firefighters confirmed they were on call, but some residents say they were not properly informed about the sequence unfolding in their yard. Deadline has contacted the Montana Film Office.
Originally scheduled to film in downtown Livingston through Oct. 10, Police Chief Wayne Hard said the department has been contacted with complaints “daily” since filming began, but no incidents of violence have been reported.
With Rust With producer Carter Boehm part of the production team, Bonfire Legend’s Sonnier and Daily Wire’s latest collaboration comes after their last film, Run Hide Fight: Infidelswas picketed by IATSE. Several crew members left filming due to work issues in South Carolina, shortly before Jonathan Majors was involved in an on-set accident that left his co-star JC Kilcoyne needing stitches “all over his hands” after falling through a window.
Deadline confirmed that the Pawnbroker production is also not under IATSE contract, although it is in “conditional start-up” with SAG-AFTRA.
A call sheet seen by Deadline lists Danny Trejo, Harvey Keitel and Henry Thomas among the cast.
The summary of Pawnbroker It reads: “When chaos hits the streets of Minneapolis, a young federal agent finds himself alone after his partner is seriously injured and must find a way to survive an increasingly dangerous situation. Seeking refuge at a neighborhood pawn shop, he finds himself stuck with a traditional Hispanic father and his progressive college-aged son, forcing three very different men to confront fear, conflicting beliefs and a crisis that tests their courage and humanity.”
Gn entert
