Trejo breaks silence on backlash
Danny Trejo has spoken out after criticism over his involvement in the Daily Wire's latest controversial project, Pawn Shop. The Los Angeles-born Mexican-American actor said on Friday that he is pro-immigrant, despite being cast in the pro-ICE film from Ben Shapiro's production company and Dallas Sonnier's Bonfire Legend. The production has been protested by residents in Livingston, Montana, where filming has been taking place.[S1][S2]
In a social media statement, Trejo described himself as a proud Mexican who has always supported and will continue to support his community. He also said he is clearly pro-immigrant and not pro-ICE, adding that he knows his origins and the struggles of his community. Trejo explained that he is an actor whose job is to tell a story, and he ended with a blessing.[S1]
Production suspended and permit revised
After a weekend pause in filming, the actor spoke out. Work picked back up Tuesday with an amended permit. Under that permit, the crew must keep the Livingston Food Resource Center reachable for residents who use its food pantry, and must keep the public away from violent scene shoots and from loud noise. The production further pledged to respond to criticism of its private security arrangements, promising no policing or harassment of locals on adjacent public streets.[S1]
Shapiro criticized the suspension as a violation of the First Amendment. He called the film's critics censorious jackasses who oppose free speech.[S1]
Local protests and labor questions
Residents have pushed back since shooting started, saying they were not properly told in advance about blank gunfire, pyrotechnics and a staged car crash. They have also taken issue with the opening scene, which seems to reenact ICE's fatal shooting of Renée Good in Minnesota in January.[S1]
Carter Boehm, a producer on Rust, is part of this production team. This marks another Bonfire Legend and Daily Wire project, arriving after their earlier film Run Hide Fight: Infidels, which drew IATSE picketing. In South Carolina, some crew members quit amid labor disputes shortly before Jonathan Majors was in an on-set accident; his co-star JC Kilcoyne fell through a window and required stitches across both hands. Deadline has confirmed Pawn Shop likewise has no IATSE contract, operating instead under a conditional start with SAG-AFTRA.[S1]
Cast and synopsis
Pawn Shop centers on a young federal agent stranded in Minneapolis once his partner is badly wounded, left to endure a situation that grows more perilous. He takes refuge inside a neighborhood pawn shop, where he ends up stuck alongside a traditional Hispanic father and the man's progressive college-aged son. These three dissimilar men face down fear, clashing worldviews and a crisis that tries their bravery and their shared humanity. Trejo appears with Harvey Keitel and Henry Thomas.[S1]
