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After public comments at a nearly seven-hour Livingston City Commission meeting Monday night on whether a polarizing movie could continue to shoot within city limits, vice chairman James Willich went through his notebook.
“24 pages of notes,” he said. “That’s a new record!”
By the end of the night, commissioners voted unanimously to allow the Daily Wire-related footage of an ICE agent battling Antifa activists and MS-13 gang members to continue. The decision came two days after the commission halted operations on set, and was an additional plot point in a week-long drama surrounding the film’s production in the southwestern Montana town since filming began in late September.
The commission’s decision means filming – on a set that includes a fictional Minneapolis pawn shop and a Korean grocery store – can resume. Filming is expected to wrap up on Saturday. Agents pledged to abide by permit regulations, including keeping a local food pantry open and accessible, keeping in private security operations, and following up on signs and calls to affected neighbors.
“I am saddened that we have all gathered here under these circumstances,” said local representative Ari Novak. “In five days from now, a lot of this film crew will leave. I’ll still be your neighbor. And I want to be a good neighbor to like-minded people that I don’t agree with.”
More than 120 people came into the Livingston Commission meeting, sitting cross-legged on the floor and spilling into the hall and adjoining rooms. About 150 more were viewed online. Over the course of two weeks, news stories and social media accounts overflowed with the drama: This tension over a movie in a small Montana town seemed like a microcosm of the immigration drama and culture war gripping communities across the country.
At first, the film’s opponents raised questions about its content: A leaked copy of the script — the working title of “Pawn Shop” — contains thinly veiled references to the Renee Good murder and the Kilmar Albrego Garcia saga, both shown through a conservative, hard-on-immigration lens. In the script, a copy of which was reviewed by the Montana Free Press, the film’s protagonist shoots an activist as she drives maniacally into his car, killing her law enforcement partner. An arrested immigrant claims to be innocent, but later becomes a key player in MS-13.
While the film has echoes of real events, the majority of the film is an over-the-top action film starring Danny Trejo and Harvey Keitel, according to a leaked release sheet – an opposition film that has been criticized for being full of guns, gore, explosions and conservative tropes.
“It’s 87 pages of bullshit,” activist Brooklyn Wilde said in an interview in late September.
But shortly after filming began, the production’s detractors also disrupted the process. Deputies had not informed the public enough about the shooting, they said, and especially not about the violence involved. The shooting involved firing blanks and setting off explosions, theatrics that shocked the film’s residential neighbors and sparked public safety concerns. Many members of the public also reported to reporters and on social media that they felt intimidated, intimidated and harassed by heavily armed security guards hired by the film company to keep the public off the streets closed for the film set.
The closures particularly affected the Livingston Food Resource Center. “We have not been notified of plans to film,” the group said in a press release in early October. They said the film’s security forces stopped cars and bicycles from trying to get to the center, driving the presence of their food pantry to an 18-week low.
Citing community concerns, the Livingstone Commission held an emergency meeting Saturday morning, and the film was filmed about a quarter of a mile away. The sponsors of the film were not present. In the end, the commission voted to temporarily suspend the film’s approval.
“I think this was a runaway train,” Commissioner Cindy Daniels said at the time. “I think they have taken advantage of the situation to make their film which they are going to benefit from.”
At Monday’s meeting, the producers of the film appeared to express their side of the story. Lead producer Dallas Sonnier described dealing with serious security concerns as anger grew over the film: A truck drove through the barricades marking the street closure on the first day of filming, he said, the driver screaming obscenities at the cast and crew. Amanda Presmyk, another producer, said the protesters were also shouting “cut” and “action” during stunt sequences, creating disturbances that could be dangerous. “It was only then that I decided to hire professional security to protect the team and close the permitted roads,” said Sonnier.
Several commentators who spoke for the film production argued that the commission’s decision to suspend the license was based on politics, not law. “The government cannot suppress legal sentiment just because audiences oppose its message,” Sonnier said. “Film approval should depend on legal compliance, not approval of the story being told.”
The city’s attorney, Jon Hesse, said that the question before the commission was narrow, and had nothing to do with the content of the product: Did the production of the film violate the terms of its license? The answer to that would decide if, and how, the commissioners would be allowed to continue their work.
“Please honor the permit the city gave us and send it back tonight,” Presmyk urged, doubling down on the delegates’ commitment to seeing the project through. “Let’s finish the movie anyway.”
Livingston resident Katy Canetta, who lives near the filming location, said the pushback to the production at Saturday’s meeting had nothing to do with the film’s theme. “It was about the terror that 2nd Street has suffered at the hands of armed guards in paramilitary gear with guns who have harassed vulnerable people and used violence and fear to force the closure of public property for private gain.”
Taylor Wallace, owner of The Gem, a coffee shop next to the film set, said he was never told about the shooting. He said workers could not perform basic tasks such as taking out the garbage without being harassed by security guards. Eventually, he closed shop, fearing for the safety of workers. “The inability of this film to effectively notify nearby businesses and residents led to fear, chaos, and ultimately danger,” he said. “No one should feel unsafe at work or at home.”
The city of Livingston has a small framework for issuing film licences. The attachment document is just a few boxes to check and blanks to fill in. Officials said over two weeks of filming, the production will bring in just over $5,000 in license revenue for the city. The city reserves the right to revoke the permit due to public safety concerns.
“Food security is a public safety concern,” said Livingston local Bex Frucht. “Misinformation is a public safety concern. Mental health is a safety concern. We’re enduring all of this because this product came into our town, literally guns blazing, without full, proper warning. And they were able to take advantage of our lax regulations.
Both sides of the film debate expressed fear and insecurity, but opponents and supporters of the film blamed each other. Film crew and even security staff told commissioners that their personal information was leaked, and that they received death threats and harassment as a result of their involvement in the production.
Supporters of the film also emphasized that the film industry was an economic engine for the city. Richard Gray, co-founder of the old-style Yellowstone Film Ranch about 30 minutes south of Livingston, said film productions had brought tens of millions of dollars and thousands of jobs to the area in the past decade alone. “If you start a movie out of town because of things that might be set, it’s just a bad look,” he said. “And it will have a big impact on our film industry.”
Yetta Stein, poet and executive director of Elk River Arts and Lectures, took issue with that idea. “A short-term economic boost is not worth the safety of my neighbors,” she said. “I also find that this whole conversation is disturbing the important work of our city.”
As the attendees left the meeting as the hours passed, commissioners debated the future of the city’s film regulations.
“Our ordinances and codes are not in place to meet the needs of our community,” said commission chairwoman Melissa Nootz. “The things people want, we haven’t written those laws and policies yet.”
When asked for comments as the attendees left the meeting, Sonnier declined to be interviewed until the film was over. But the representative gave a tired but strong thumbs up after the commission’s vote. He testified that he would be ready to resume the film at 6am on Tuesday morning.
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This story was originally published by the Montana Free Press and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
