An ICE agent can cover their face while doing their job, but a crew member’s name remains affixed to a film long after it wraps — with credits shaping the opportunities that come next. Taking direction is part of the gig, of course. But knowing how to execute a scene isn’t the same as knowing what story you’ve agreed to tell or whose politics your work might serve.
That distinction is at the heart of one former crew member’s account of “Pawn Shop,” a pro-ICE action film backed by Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire. On Oct. 3, officials in Livingston, Montana, temporarily halted the production amid complaints about public safety and local disruptions allegedly caused by the shoot. Two days later, commissioners unanimously agreed to let filming continue after producers pledged to comply with permit requirements.
“Let us be clear: there’s only one reason the city commissioners ruled they were going to stop our production on the street: politics, pure and simple, and they pretty much admitted it,” Shapiro said in a statement sent to the press on October 6.
Livingston has a long history of welcoming film crews, and Shapiro claimed that city officials would have accommodated other kinds of productions but specifically objected to a Daily Wire project about immigration enforcement. The conservative commentator argued that treating movies differently because of their subject matter infringed on filmmakers’ constitutional rights.
“That is content discrimination openly performed and a violation of the First Amendment,” Shapiro said.
For the worker who spoke to IndieWire anonymously, however, the problem began earlier — with what they say they weren’t told about “Pawn Shop” before accepting the job.
“I was asked my availability, was told it was a ‘fun action movie’ in downtown Livingston. Great crew, great whatever. That was the whole pitch,” they said. “So, I just said, ‘Yep, I’m available.’”
The crew member said they requested the “Pawn Shop” script and specific information needed for their role but did not receive substantive details about the film’s subject until well after taking the gig. “If I had known this, then I would not have even accepted the job,” they said.
IndieWire has reviewed documentation confirming this person’s employment status on “Pawn Shop.” They spoke on condition of anonymity after signing a nondisclosure agreement with the film, which pairs the Daily Wire and producer Dallas Sonnier’s company Bonfire Legend. Neither responded to IndieWire’s questions about what crew were told before signing on.
Local activist and film worker Brooklyn Wilde — whose social media posts about the production and eventual protests helped bring national attention to the controversy — said other workers also left the shoot after learning more about the “Pawn Shop” script.
“They said that they were explicitly lied to about the content of the film, were only made aware when they got to set, and had to book themselves their own travel home to leave,” said Wilde.
The anonymous crew member estimated nearly a dozen departures and said they thought many people working on the movie were from out of state. They also identified a screenplay draft supplied to IndieWire by Wilde as a version they had seen used on set.
A casting synopsis, also provided to IndieWire by Wilde, describes “Pawn Shop” as the story of a federal agent stranded amid chaos in Minneapolis, where he takes shelter in a pawn shop with a “traditional Hispanic father and his progressive college-age son.” The crew member did not recognize that specific casting description but said it matched their earlier understanding of the film before the production disclosed more of its politically charged content.
In an early sequence from the screenplay, Melanie, a protester described as “a fat blue-hair” in the document, panics when an ICE officer raises his gun and she accidentally strikes his partner while reversing her car. The armed immigration agent then shoots Melanie in response, and his partner subsequently dies. Later, a TV broadcast shows edited footage that omits the collision but calls the shooting “murder.”
Both Wilde and the former crew member see the alleged sequence as an ideologically motivated distortion of the real death of Renée Good: a 37-year-old American citizen and mother of three whom ICE officer Jonathan Ross fatally shot in Minneapolis on January 7.
Federal officials defended Good’s killing as self-defense, and Reuters’ video analysis noted apparent contact between the SUV and Ross. But the Reuters’ investigation could not determine exactly how the alleged collision occurred, and further New York Times reporting found no indication that Ross had been run over using additional bystander footage.
Of the “Pawn Shop” screenplay, Wilde said, “They’re rewriting the truth.”
No ICE officer died in the real-life shooting. But Good’s family, including her wife, Becca, filed two federal lawsuits on Oct. 1 alleging excessive force and civil rights violations by ICE. The family is seeking a jury trial and damages — while the White House has called the claims baseless and said the Trump administration will “vigorously defend” itself against them.
Learning more about the “Pawn Shop” script made leaving feel necessary to the anonymous worker, but navigating that departure was difficult. They described discomfort with the material, uncertainty about how to withdraw gracefully, and considering a pseudonym in the credits if they stayed.
“You form relationships with people and they call you for something and you don’t ask a lot of questions,” they said.
Their content objections also became entwined with safety concerns amid building demonstrations by activists. Though the worker privately supported the protesters and hoped officials would halt filming, they wanted to know how the shoot would protect the crew as bystanders approached and shouted. When they asked about protocols, they said, “I was laughed at.”
The film’s leadership has publicly described their own safety concerns since then. At the Oct. 5 commissioners meeting, producer Sonnier said a truck had driven through some of the shoot’s barricades. Amanda Presmyk, another producer, also said protesters shouting “cut” and “action” created dangerous distractions during stunts, per Montana Free Press. (Bonfire Legend did not respond to our inquiries about taking safety precautions on set.)
IndieWire’s source said they wanted to leave the crew on good terms but ultimately felt they had to get out quickly. “Not my favorite way to do that, but I didn’t know what else to do,” they said.
Wilde said some workers who contacted activists about their “Pawn Shop” experiences subsequently withdrew their willingness to speak. “I’ve actually had people rescind their messages to me and step back on what they’re willing to share because they’re scared of retaliation,” he said.
Legally, the ability to leave a job and the consequences of actually leaving it are separate questions. That’s according to Eugene Volokh, a First Amendment scholar, UCLA law professor emeritus, and senior fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution. Speaking generally, without reviewing this particular worker’s contract, Volokh said employees can usually quit; although, a promise to work for a specified period may expose them to a breach-of-contract claim.
The First Amendment doesn’t offer much protection in disputes like these either, Volokh said. The Supreme Court’s 303 Creative decision — which held that Colorado could not require a web designer to create custom products celebrating same-sex marriages against her religious beliefs — concerned government compulsion. An independent director or film production company requiring crew to carry out a business agreement raises different questions.
“How can you make a film unless you have crew who are going to implement the film regardless of their viewpoint?” Volokh said. He explained that a specific false promise about a production could potentially support a contractual or misrepresentation claim from crew, but said describing something as a “fun action movie” does not itself promise that the assignment won’t involve politics.
Whether a worker has recourse in situations where they feel misled mostly depends on what was represented and agreed to — but for film industry professionals, union agreements can establish additional obligations. SAG-AFTRA requires advance disclosure of known nudity or simulated sex scenes, with written consent through riders specifying what will be depicted. That said, those protections are contractual rather than government-mandated and only address certain scenes; they do not establish a general right to approve a film’s viewpoint.
“Pawn Shop” stars Danny Trejo and Harvey Keitel, among others. Deadline previously reported that the production had a SAG-AFTRA “conditional start,” and IATSE confirmed to IndieWire that the film is not covered by its agreements and declined further comment. Representatives for the actors did not respond to IndieWire before publication, and neither Trejo nor Keitel’s contract terms are public. What they knew before accepting their roles also remains unclear.
Still, the concern extends beyond political disagreement for the anonymous worker who left the troubled Livingston production behind. Receiving vital information after committing time, signing paperwork, or traveling can make a decision harder to reverse. But they recalled another production to IndieWire involving emotionally difficult material for which they wanted enough notice to assess if they were equipped to do the work — and reached the same conclusion.
“Politics alone and opinions aside, maybe I don’t have the skillset that they need to make this project come to life either,” they said. “So, I find it irresponsible to not tell people what they’re doing.” Their request, especially after “Pawn Shop,” was for that crossroads to come earlier.
“I would like to have the ability to say no to something if it’s not something I feel comfortable doing,” they said.
