Original-Cin Q&A: The Director and Cast of Stop! That! Train! on Drag, Sisterhood and Comedy

By Bonnie Laufer

If you’ve been mourning the state of modern cinematic comedy, it’s time to get back on track. Enter Stop! That! Train!, a wild, low-budget indie comedy shot in just 19 days under the direction of industry veteran Adam Shankman, best known for helming the 2007 remake of John Waters’ classic 1988 comedy, Hairspray.

Backed by the legendary RuPaul, the film rounds up a powerhouse ensemble of comedy geniuses like Rachel Bloom as well as drag royalty: Toronto’s own Brooke Lynn Hytes, Symone, Latrice Royale, Ginger Minj, Jujubee, and Marcia Marcia Marcia. There are also some fun cameos.

Ginger Minj and Jujubee in a scene from Stop! That! Train!

We caught up with the director and his stellar cast to talk about forming an instant on-set sisterhood, trading classic drag contouring for high-stakes drama, and why this project was an absolute no-brainer. Stop! That! Train! opens June 12 across Canada just in time for Pride celebrations.

ORIGINAL-CIN: Adam, I couldn't imagine this film in anyone else’s hands. Making it was very different from what you are used to. How quickly did you get on board?

ADAM SHANKMAN: Very quickly. Once RuPaul got in touch and I read the script, I immediately revisited some original Irwin Allen disaster movies, as well as Airplane and other Airplane offshoots like the Naked Guns and Hot Shots. Those kinds of movies were an incredibly formative part of my movie experience growing up. So, when I saw this opportunity — and let me tell you, they do not come along very often — I was like, ‘Hell yes.’

O-C: Rachel, you get to play it straight as Donna Dusk, the woman who is trying to warn everyone that this train is headed towards disaster. Was this also a no-brainer for you?

RACHEL BLOOM: I couldn't believe how funny the script was and then also that they were making it and putting it in theaters. You keep hearing, especially as a writer and comedian, that comedy's dead. ‘Comedy's not international, comedy's not selling, it's hard to sell a comedy.’ So, when this project dropped in my lap and for it to get made, who wouldn't jump at that?

O-C: Brooke, I have it on excellent authority from our pal Tracy Melchor that you are one of the nicest people in the world. What was it like to play a mean girl?

BROOKE LYNN HYTES: It's so much fun being the villain! I'm very aware that I look like a bitch when you see me. I'm 18 feet tall, and I have resting bitch face and I know that that's kind of half the battle, but I think I am a very nice person in real life. I always lead with the best intentions, whether that comes off or not. It was fun.

ORIGINAL-CIN: Ginger, in the film you guys are playing women, you're not playing drag queens. What was the best advice Adam gave you?

GINGER MINJ: We never had a single conversation about gender. The only thing that he told Juju and I before we started was that these girls have a beautiful friendship, and most importantly, you're not in a comedy, this is a drama. Play for the stakes. So that’s exactly what we did. Juju and I have been friends for over a decade, so we had a lot to draw on. We lived together during the filming of the movie. We'd go home and we'd talk about what's happening tomorrow and how our actual relationship kind of mimics that or informs that. Then we would just get silly with it and try stupid things from our perspective, and it all just really hit.

SYMONE: Adam said it best. It was fun to watch us come through. We would get in drag, and then we'd have to come from being ourselves to our drag selves but not play queens, if you get my drift. It was a different acting muscle, in the sense that we were playing real characters and we had to find who that character was. Adam was a great director and knew exactly what he wanted, and so it was just always remembering that, that we're not playing ourselves, we're not playing our drag personas, we're playing a different character.

Director Adam Shankman

LATRICE ROYALE: It is a different acting muscle, but the biggest difference is the makeup. Whoa, none of us were accustomed to not contouring and being very draggy. Adam was very adamant, pun intended (laughs) about not having those harsh lines, because we are playing characters and not drag queens. Being in the movie and even having it made is powerful. This is something I never thought I would see, but what great timing. This is what the world needs right now,

We must dispel all the myths and hateful things said about us; we are just here to bring joy and laughter and we want people to be their authentic selves. This is one of those moments where we get to do that. To be honest, I didn't even realize it, but the words ‘drag queen,’ or the fact that we are drag queens, was never ever brought up.

O-C: Juju, whenever I watch Drag Race, I love the drama. But I particularly love when the queens are in the “werk-room” and you see the camaraderie. Why does it work so well, particularly with you and Ginger and how does that dynamic influence you in this film?

JUJUBEE: It works for us because we're very open and honest with each other, and our friendship is real, so you get an extension of that in the story of Tess and Deedee. Actually, let me rephrase that. In the story of Deedee and Tesse (laughs)!

MARCIA MARCIA MARCIA: I think the three of us (Brooke Lynn and Symone) got along very quickly because we did most of our scenes together. We'd all worked with each other very briefly in the past, but getting to sit on set for 14 hours every single day was an absolute blast. The three of us formed a true sisterhood. We really feel like a family. We socialized outside of work, which is how you know you really like your coworkers.

O-C: We would not be here chatting if it weren't for RuPaul. Brooke, with what RuPaul has given you with your career hosting Drag Race Canada, and you're going to be doing “All Stars” with Jimbo and Priyanka, what does RuPaul mean to you?

BLH: Oh my gosh. Everything. Ru has not just given me my career and my life that I enjoy now, but he's given all of us the platform to chase our dreams. I think almost everyone from the show has benefited from it in some way or other, and I am eternally grateful to him and everyone at World of Wonder for creating the show and giving the people who've been on the show a platform.

Also giving the people who have not yet had the opportunity to be on the show the dream, something to speak for, something to achieve, something to work towards. I think that it is so important to have a goal, don’t be afraid to go for it, you need something to strive for, and I think Drag Race has given our community that.

LR: Being in Drag Race has been astounding. Ru has brought us to the mainstream, which even he didn't see happening at one point in his life and career. The fact that he continues to choose me for projects and special things is not only an honour, but it lets me know that he sees me. He sees me in a different light, and I want to show up for him in the best way ever and never disappoint. This was most certainly one of those occasions where I got to do that.

O-C: Adam, the closest experience you had having a man play a woman in one of your films was with John Travolta in Hairspray. Working on Stop! That! Train! is a whole level up! What did you glean from this experience and maybe learn about yourself?

AS: These artists are heroes. It is not comfortable being in drag. So, if you're going to do it, it must be important to you and it must be something that feels like a very important part of your expression. The fact that everybody came to work ready to rumble, working on all their cylinders, was extraordinary. I was a guest judge on Drag Race a few times, and so I've been around it, and that seems very stressful to me in a very different way.

I treated this film like any one of my sets. You are actors, you are coming in to do a job, I expect you to know your lines, I expect you to bring you’re A-game, and that's why you're here. It felt like a team, we were all in this movie together in a boat paddling in the same direction and the gratitude that I felt was great.