How Downtown Livingston Transformed Into A Minneapolis Film Set

In recent times, Montana has become an increasingly popular location for film and television productions. In many cases, producers choose Montana because they want to capture its authentic feel.

It would appear that is not the case this time.

Filming is taking place in downtown Livingston. The entire downtown area has been transformed to resemble Minneapolis for a project titled “Pawn Shop” (working title). Based on reports from the set, this does not seem to be your average Hallmark Christmas movie.

ICE, Protests, and Fake Minnesota in Montana

MTN News reports that the film crew built several blocks of downtown Livingston, including a fake pawn shop, a Korean market, and scenes featuring Immigration Enforcement.

During roughly two hours at the set, reporters witnessed ICE signage, fake protesters, fire, and even a scene involving a man repeatedly being run over.

Reporting done separately indicated that the plot will center on Immigration Enforcement, protests, and gang violence. The project has reportedly been produced by Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire.

Additionally, some of the scenes appear to be inspired by real-life incidents involving Immigration Enforcement and protests in Minneapolis. But all of these scenes are entirely fictional.

Not Everyone in Livingston Is Happy About It

Residents of Livingston do not approve of how the project is affecting their community. Filming is attracting actual protesters to the streets of Livingston. Actors are then going on to portray protesters across the street from them.

Imagine explaining this to someone you ran into while grabbing a quick bite to eat downtown today?

There is a more serious issue associated with filming. The Livingston Food Resource Center is located within the boundaries of where filming is taking place. The Executive Director of the organization stated in an interview with MTN News that she believes that road closures prevented her clients from accessing the food pantry and that client attendance fell 17 percent one day. Additionally, she reported that some clients were approached by security personnel attempting to gain entry to the food resource center.

The City Manager of Livingston agreed that filming has negatively impacted the local community. He added that he believed the city could help resolve some of the problems created by filming.

Montana's Becoming One Giant Movie Set

Whatever you think about this movie in terms of political views on the film, it's really cool to see a temporary Minneapolis in Livingston.

Over the past few years, we have seen Montana used as the setting for films ranging from Westerns to Television Dramas. It seems now that we will be able to add an imaginary MN Immigration Clash to the list.

I am just wondering how many tourists are going to drive through Livingston when they see the ICE Agents, Protests, Burning Sets, run-down cars, etc., and say: "I thought Yellowstone was making things up about Montana, but I guess it wasn't that far off."