Given its phenomenal success across 18 seasons of television (not to mention numerous spin-offs and a global domination of international versions), it was only a matter of time before “RuPaul’s Drag Race” leaped off the small screen and made its way into movie theaters. “Stop! That! Train!” is essentially a cinematic extension of the groundbreaking reality show, but with a fictionalized twist. Directed by Adam Shankman, the film stars the winner of “Drag Race’s” All Stars Season 10, Ginger Minj, and frequent “Drag Race” competitor Jujubee as a pair of train attendants on the opulent Glamazonian Express. Their first journey on the luxury locomotive is interrupted by an approaching Stormaganza, which threatens to turn their maiden voyage into their last. The duo must find a way to save the train and all of its kooky passengers, but thankfully, they’re not alone, as none other than President Judy Gagwell (RuPaul Charles) is ready to lend a manicured hand.
Before “Stop! That! Train!” chugga-chuggas its way into theaters, I spoke with director Adam Shankman and leading ladies Ginger Minj and Jujubee about what inspired the film, what it was like going from television to film, and how, to drag queens, what might insult the average person can actually be a compliment.
Be sure to also listen to my interviews with their co-stars Rachel Bloom & Latrice Royale, and Brooke Lynn Hytes, Marcia Marcia Marcia & Symone.
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Hi folks, how are we doing today?
GINGER MINJ: Hi Cody, good! How are you?
JUJUBEE: Cody!
Good thanks, hi, yeah, all right! I’ve got Adam Shankman, the director, and stars Ginger Minj and Jujubee of “Stop! That! Train!” Thank you so much for chatting with me today.
JUJUBEE: Thanks Cody, good to see you.
Love the voice.
JUJUBEE: Thank you.
Ginger and Juju, I’m gonna start right off with you because you are obviously stars in the “[RuPaul’s] Drag Race” world, but how did it feel to be stars of a big major motion picture like this?
GINGER: Incredible, amazing. It’s what I’ve wanted my entire life, and I didn’t know that it was a possibility for me to be a big old movie star. And to get to do it with somebody that I’ve loved for so long, it’s extra special.
JUJUBEE: Yeah, it’s incredible, amazing. I didn’t know that I’d be able to star in a big movie like this. It’s something that I’ve always wanted my entire life and to be able to act with this superstar is extra special. Was that the same exact answer?
Yes, it was.
GINGER: Same exact answer, but I loved it! I loved your take on it.
JUJUBEE: You see how I can learn lines really fast?
Like a Meisner exercise, back and forth.
GINGER She’s railing the lines!
ADAM SHANKMAN: You’re literally doing a mirroring exercise right now.
Adam, how about you? How did you get involved with this production?
ADAM: I was approached after, I was doing a guest judge episode of “Drag Race” and Randy Barbato from World of Wonder pulled me aside and said, “Hey, we have a script. [RuPaul] would be really excited if you’d read it. It’s really Looney Tunes.” And I said, “Sure, let me take a look.” And when I read it, I was like, I think I have to do this. I don’t want anybody else to do it because it’s too rare of a little gem. This is a very narrow lane, doing comedy like this. And it’s a very specific kind of comedy that I really love. And som to have that opportunity felt like something I didn’t want to pass up.
I mean, a big comedy getting released in theaters now is amazing.
ADAM: Well, that in and of itself is crazy, but also to do one that’s so anchored in kind of just pure silliness and the best kind of stupidity. And also is not sort of politicized, it’s not rom-com. You know, it’s just sort of genre defying, it’s its own thing. They just don’t make these a lot. So, the fact that somebody wanted to do one of these things that was in a tradition of movies that I grew up on, I was like, hell yeah.
Ginger and Juju, you both obviously have plenty of experience on camera in different capacities and with live performance, but I want to know what, if any, differences there were in terms of acting for this type of film, as opposed to “Drag Race” or reality TV or for the stage.
JUJUBEE: So acting on stage is so much bigger because we’re acting for the person that’s in the last row. But to do this on camera, we have to convey the emotion and sell the story, but make it a lot tinier because it has to fit into this tiny camera, you know? So things needed to be smaller, but still give the emotion. I remember on set, Adam would say, “You’re giving too much mug, girls. You got to tone it down.” And I never understood that until we watched it back. And I was like, oh my gosh, he’s right. And that’s what a great director does, is to let us know what we can do to make it better.
ADAM: We just needed to see it in your eyes. Once you have it in your eyes, when the camera’s this close to you…
JUJUBEE: Right. And I literally said, wow, I could have frozen my forehead with Botox. I wish I knew!
GINGER: Well, with those wispy bangs, you could have done anything to your forehead, dear.
JUJUBEE: Oh, are you jealous of my hair?
GINGER: Yes, I am! Because I didn’t get any Botox before we filmed and I didn’t have a bang. I’ve got a five-head. We could have shown the movie on my forehead.
JUJUBEE: And in some places they do.
GINGER: I know, I like it.
You have to pay extra for that, though.
JUJUBEE: We pay them to watch it.
Adam, so usually you choreograph your own films. But for this film, it was the great Jamal Sims. So what was it like having someone else do that work for you?
ADAM: I’ve known Jamal since 1994. And Jamal was one of my assistants forever. He was my assistant on “Hairspray.” He was the lead choreographer on all the “Step Up” movies. So my relationship with Jamal is very long. It is all about trust and belief. And we also know how each other work. And so if anybody was going to do it, it was going to be Jamal. And Jamal has obviously worked with all the drag queens before. So it was not a difficult decision. And I did come into rehearsal, and I would have thoughts about certain things, and I would say like, “Hey, what if we did it like this? Or what if we do that and like that?” And he was like, “Yeah, great, let’s do it like that.” Because he doesn’t have, in my head what I know about where the seats are and what the camera’s doing and all that kind of stuff. So, it’s just a trusting, loving relationship. We’ve had a partnership for a very long time. So it was easy, easy for me to say, like, you need to do this. I only had two weeks of prep on the movie, so it wasn’t like I could figure out all the choreography.
I just talked to [co-stars Brooke Lynn Hytes, Marcia Marcia Marcia, and Symone] and they told me that they had one day for each number. Amazing.
ADAM: One day of rehearsal. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Exactly.
ADAM: And not, like, full days. We shot each number, honestly, it was between like two and three hours.
GINGER: And that’s, like, taking the time to remove the other wall, put the one wall back, and then flip the cameras. It was fast.
Ginger and Juju, you’ve worked together plenty, I saw you do “Hokus Pokus Live” when you were here in Chicago last year. So what do you like best about working with the other person? Ginger, let’s start with you.
GINGER: I completely trust Jujubee on stage. There’s a warmth about her that people naturally gravitate towards, and my sense of comedy is the opposite of that, right? So I think we balance each other particularly well. And then when you throw Sapphira Cristál into the mix when we’re doing “Hokus Pokus Live,” it’s like The Three Stooges reborn. And it’s just nuanced and it’s fun. I never have a bad day when I’m working with my friend, you know?
JUJUBEE: And I always have a bad day when I’m working with my friend.
GINGER: It’s true, it’s true.
JUJUBEE: So that’s the balance that we have together.
You gotta respect the balance
JUJUBEE: We trust each other. Yeah, we trust each other on stage, and it’s really nice to be able to perform with somebody that knows what you’re thinking. Because you can’t communicate onstage with words that aren’t in the script, right? But we just get it. We’ll just give that crazy eye look and say, “We’re going to go off script a little bit right now.” And it just works. And we’re really quick together. It’s a great team thing.
Adam, so obviously everybody’s talking about how this is kind of “gay Airplane!” This is “Airplane!” for the 21st century but, you know, grounded. Were there any other films that you specifically drew inspiration from while you were making this one?
ADAM: Yeah, I mean, we talked with the writers a lot about this. There was a lot of “Romy and Michele” in the girl’s relationship. There is obviously a little smattering of “Mean Girls” in the relationship with the mean girls. But it really does…it is born of the “Airplane!” “Hot Shots,” “Naked Gun” milieu.
I’d be lying if I was, like, just throwing movies in there. Well, I will tell you this. Pre that, I am inspired by the levels of absurdity and stupidity that Mel Brooks, you know, in the earlier part of his career, particularly “Blazing Saddles,” “High Anxiety,” “Young Frankenstein.” Those movies are very formative for me, and they never ran away from a silly joke. I’m not comparing me to him, but I’m just saying, those movies, in terms of their approach to silliness, certainly. And maybe absurdity is a kinder word than stupid, but I just sort of go like, yeah, that was real stupid, you know, in the best way.
Stupid in a complimentary way, absolutely.
GINGER: Well, in drag, that is a high compliment too. “Girl, you are so stupid. That is so stupid.” That is a high compliment.
JUJUBEE: Thank you.
Well, on that note, thank you for this very stupid interview. I really appreciate it.
GINGER: Thank you, Cody, you bring out the stupidity in us.
JUJUBEE: Thank you, Cody. Thank you, CD. Happy Pride!
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
“Stop! That! Train!” opens in US theaters on June 12th
You can follow Cody and hear more of his thoughts on the Oscars and Film on X @codymonster91
