Unrelentingly campy and delightfully stupid, Stop! That! Train! made its way to theatres on June 12. The film–a takeoff (if you will) on classics like Airplane!, The Naked Gun, and Top Secret!–was borne of the RuPaul’s Drag Race universe and produced by World of Wonder’s Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato. It features a host of the show’s darlings, including the eponymous icon herself. 

Ginger Minj and Jujubee star as the wide-eyed and hopeful train hostesses Tess and DeeDee who attempt to save their runway Glamazonian Express train from a deadly Stormaganza; Brooke Lynn Hytes is classic platinum blonde mean girl Amber, who tries to stand in their way with co-meanies Marty Lauter aka Marcia Marcia Marcia and Symone. RuPaul is Judy Gagwell, President of the United States, who steps in after conquering a tragic past. The film also includes Drag Race favorites Latrice Royale as longtime hustler Barbra and cameos by Monét X Change and Angeria Paris VanMicheals. 

Directed by Adam Shankman and written by Christina Friel and Connor Wright, Stop! That! Train! is one of the few films released recently to feature drag artists in starring roles–not as drag queens, but as women. In all of its batty silliness, it’s replete with hunky conductors, horny divorcées, Denver omelets (or lack thereof), disco balls, Swiss twins, scorpions, and enough celebrity cameos to start a Drag Race Walk of Fame (many have been judges on the show).

Friel and Wright, writing partners of 13 years, originally began working with World of Wonder on 2021’s The Bitch Who Stole Christmas. The World of Wonder team approached them on that set with an idea for a drag Airplane!, and the film that became Stop! That! Train! began to take shape (it did originally take place on an airplane). Friel and Wright never really knew if the film would see the light of day, given the fickle nature of Hollywood, but they got a call last year telling them it would indeed make its way to theatres. Filmed over 19 days, it features many drag artists in their first major film roles, Brooke Lynn Hytes included. 

What an interesting time to be alive, where drag can exist on a mainstream screen like this amidst the backlash it’s faced over the last several years. Indeed, we get comparatively so few films with drag artists as leads, let alone one where they don’t explicitly play drag artists, that one example still draws so much attention, whether it be praise or ire (maybe not unlike the phenomenon of Drag Race itself). As more films are made with drag artists as leads in the same way, the weight of cultural discourse that each film bears will become less and less–we’ll just be able to see a film like this for what it is: a reason to have a good time.

V spoke to Brooke Lynn Hytes, Christina Friel, and Connor Wright about their Stop! That! Train! experiences from start to finish, from life behind the screen to the beauty of drag actors and so much more.

Brooke Lynn Hytes, actor and drag artist, Stop! That! Train!

V: What aspects of Brooke Lynn Hytes do you think people will see for the first time in this film?

Brooke Lynn Hytes: I guess, me acting for real. I did another movie with Connor and Christina, actually, called The Bitch Who Stole Christmas. That one was much more campy, but this one feels more serious and true.It is a very funny comedy, and the script was so amazing. Adam was like, we’re making a movie in the vein of Airplane!, so the comedy really comes from the script, and you are playing real characters, so there’s not a lot of jokey-jokey drag queen-ness with it–you really have to believe you are these people in order for this to work. That was very helpful. I had to learn and give myself the note to pull back because as a drag queen, especially on Drag Race, you’re always told more is better. This was the opposite. It had to be very nuanced and less, less, less. If we had ideas, Adam was always open to hearing them, and if we had time, letting us try. It was a very tight film schedule, so it was very go, go, go, but we always found time to play a little bit. 

V: How do you think drag, specifically your work on Drag Race, prepares you for a role on film?

BLH: Drag Race moves very, very quickly. When you do an acting challenge on Drag Race, you have a couple hours to write a script, put your makeup on, rehearse it, and figure out what you’re going to do, so there’s not a lot of time to think. I think this was a good thing, because sometimes the more you think, the more you rehearse, the less in the moment you are. It makes the comedy more instinctual, and you go with your gut. I’m an overthinker, for sure, so being able to go out there, know my lines, and be prepared, but also not have months to mull it over, that’s when your instincts come out.

Ru girls, it’s a fun life, but it can also be a lonely life because you spend a lot of time alone and you don’t really get to do things in big groups a lot. It’s always such a treat when you do, and then getting to spend weeks with people I love, forming new bonds, and also getting to hang out backstage with Lisa Rinna, Nicole Richie, and Sarah Michelle Gellar. I was like, “Oh, this is a great break, I don’t mind this, we can take four more hours.”

V: As a drag artist known for meticulously crafting your drag, what was it like to be in someone else’s hands from start to finish, from director to makeup artist to costume designer?

BLH: It was definitely a trusting process. My whole career, my motto has been to say yes to whatever comes up, and see what happens, see where it goes. The hardest part for me was the makeup, because as drag queens, we’re so particular about our look–that was probably the toughest thing for all of us to wrap our heads around. When I’m looking at myself, when I’m becoming this character, I need to see it, and I would tell the makeup artist, can we do a little bit more? And she would. Then I would still add more on top of that. Adam noticed, but he was like, it also worked with your character, so I didn’t say anything, and I was like, okay, great. But the makeup artists were wonderful, the hair people, the wardrobe, everyone was so nice and so excited to be there, so sweet, so happy, and it was a wonderful experience. The makeup artists knew; they were like, we understand this is not your usual makeup; we get it, and I was like, okay. This is Adam’s vision, and we were in his hands, and it turned out great. I think we look beautiful in the movies.

V: How do you think this trusting process affected you as a person and a drag artist?

BLH: With Canada’s Drag Race, it’s the same thing–I’m not directing, show running, producing the show; I’m judging it, so I’m in other people’s hands all the time. It’s hard, but it’s also a learning process, because everyone’s learning at the same time. We were very lucky with this one, but nine times out of 10, you’re walking into situations filming with people who have never worked with drag queens before, and they don’t know what we need. So, thank God for Adam. Adam treated us with such respect. We were not the punchline drag queens of this movie. We were serious actors, and we were treated as such, which was really lovely. Adam is very familiar with drag queens. This is a World of Wonder production, and they’re very familiar with drag queens. We were lit beautifully in this movie. We are normal people, but we’re also these supernatural beings–we see ourselves in a specific way, want other people to see us in a specific way, and want to be portrayed in a specific way. Stepping into this was fun and nerve-wracking, but exciting. As a drag queen, I now know what to ask for, what to look for, and what to look at. The scene I shot with RuPaul, when he slaps me, and he literally walked in, he stood on his mark, and he looked, and he’s like, we more light right there, and he pointed to this specific corner, and I was like, yes, I see what you’re talking about, how to look your best. 

V: What does it mean to you to have such a large-scale, mainstream drag film coming out now?

BLH: The word we all keep using is pride. We’re all so proud of it. That it’s happening during Pride month is so special. I think a lot of times when queer movies get made, it’s centered around trauma, so to have a movie come out that’s purely happy, stupid fun. We get to go to the movie theater and know you’re not going to be triggered by anything. You’re going to have a good time and see queer people on the big screen. Protesting and using your voice for good are all really important things, but it’s equally important to remember to find joy in life, be happy, celebrate and have a good time.

Christina Friel and Connor Wright, Writers, Stop! That! Train!

V: What do you think first attracted you to each other as writing partners? What about your comedic sensibilities did you find in each other that was inspiring?

Christina Friel: Connor and I have been writing together for 13 years. We both went to NYU and wrote in our sketch comedy group. It all blossomed from there. In school, we got really good at writing together and decided to make a proof of concept of our writing. We couldn’t afford to film anything, so we came up with this narrative podcast called Gay Future.

Connor Wright: That was our first project together. It was a parody of YA dystopian novels, set in a future where everybody’s gay, and then there’s this main special boy who’s the last straight boy. The framing narrative was that it was a manuscript found in Mike Pence’s desk. We worked on that for a long time. Then it was us proving to each other we could make something together. We’ve been working together since. 

I remember the first day in this sketch comedy group doing some improv game, and I think Christina ran out and said something so specifically funny to me that I was like, who’s she? I need to know her and be friends with her. Over the years, we’ve come to realize all the same things inspired us when we were kids. It was obviously Airplane! and The Naked Gun films, but it was also 30 Rock, Hot Rod, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion. We had been on the same track. 

CF: Even shows like Six Feet Under we bonded over because we were 12-year-olds in middle school watching prestige TV. Honestly, we really bonded going to gay bars like Pieces in New York. 

CW: I remember finding Drag Race several seasons in, coming over your house and being like, have you seen this season?

CF: I remember watching the Sasha Velour rose moment live, maybe at Pieces. 

V: How did Stop! That! Train! happen? 

CF: We were on set for The Bitch Who Stole Christmas. They came up to us and said, ‘We’ve always wanted to do a drag Airplane! We were like, all right, we’ll give it a shot. Airplane! is so beloved. It was a little bit daunting because the jokes in Airplane! are so ingrained in everybody’s brain. We wrote that thinking, well, it probably won’t get made. 

CF: So let’s throw crazy shit at the wall. 

CW: It sat there for a couple years, and we were like, oh, of course it didn’t get made. 

CF: Then last year, we got a call from Randy [Barbato] at World of Wonder, and he’s like, we’re making your movie, and Adam Shankman’s on board [to direct].

CW: Originally Stop! That! Train! was on a plane. It went through several iterations. When Adam came on board, he was like, this might be too close to Airplane!, let’s maybe pivot. We were there [on set] pretty much the whole shoot and in the tent with Adam–we would all get together and write it, so it wasn’t actually until a minute before it got shot that any of these scripts were completely finished. By the end it was us three, being part of the same brain. It had a very TV quality to it. It was thrilling. 

CF: And the cast was down with all of it too. They were throwing out ideas, and we were running to pitch jokes to them. 

CW: Sometimes Jujubee would walk in and be like, “I don’t have a line in the scene, can I have one?” [laughs]. We’d run on set, and go “say this.” It felt special. I don’t think a lot of shoots feel as welcoming to the writers. I’d give a big credit to the World of Wonder guys too, because they saw it was our baby. We need as many hands on deck as we can to get this thing made. And a lot of credit to Adam–he was also like, I don’t ever let writers come in my tent.

CF: I know, we were the first writers that he ever let in, apparently. 

V: What drew you to drag, and then what made you want to write for drag artists on screen?

CF: Honestly, the campiness. I grew up watching all of these campy comedies–Airplane!, Top Secret!, The Naked Gun–and it makes the most sense in the world for people who understand that humor, who made a lot of that humor happen, to be at the forefront of it. 

CW: The hurdle of getting on board with drag is right there: are you gonna buy into the wig and the outfit? Are you gonna choose to enjoy this? There’s a giving yourself over to it. What’s really great for us, if we’re trying to write comedy, is that we already then have an audience buying into the world–they’re ready to laugh and be really silly. One of the best parts about Drag Race is that it gives people permission to be really stupid and fun, and have a good time. Drag in general invites that. The rules are out the window. Let’s all have a good time together.

People should know how hard working these drag queens are. They are the most professional people I think I’ve ever seen on a set, the most easily pivoting types of performers. You can tell them to do anything, and they’re like, ‘Got it.’ That is the most interesting thing I got to see on set–how they’re some of our best and most interesting performers. I want them to be able to make a million movies.

CF: Adam was speaking about this yesterday. We were in Provincetown for a film festival, and he said Drag Race was a great incubator for performers to pivot, to think on a dime, to learn to dance, to get their outfits together. They had to think very quickly, and you see that in this movie, how quick, funny, and really talented, all these queens are. 

CW: When we were first pitching to World of Wonder, they were asking, wait, so are they playing drag queens? We were always immediately like, no, the fun is that they’re women. And we’re not going to do it in a super winking way either. We’re all in on the joke. Even my Pennsylvania parents who never watched Drag Race forgot they were drag queens after a while. 

V: What was behind your decision to do that?

CW: The alternative was a lot less interesting. The world we wanted to create was heightened, floating above logic, 30 Rock-style jokes. If they get to be women, then anybody gets to be anything in this movie. We get to have ghosts show up, we get to have little dolls riding the train. You can go anywhere. 

CF: It’s a fun, campy cartoon universe, and it would be so weird if everybody was playing themselves in it. It lent to the campiness of the writing and of Adam’s vision, too, for the movie.

CW: If you’re gonna go see a drag queen comedy, it’s us and our friends feeling, we’re a part of this. There’s something nice knowing a lot of people out there would probably never watch this movie. It’s also been really nice to hear big laughs from the crowd. It’s the dream that Christina and I are always chasing, so it’s been nice. 

CF: It’s joke, joke, joke, and then being in the audience and watching this community and people from the outside of the community who want to be a part of the joke watch this and laugh. 

CW: I’m really happy it’s going to theaters. There’s something really special about the idea of, I want to go out with my friends tonight, we’re all gonna have a drink before, then go watch this movie and laugh for an hour and a half. That’s the best dream in the world I can imagine.

CF: We’ve been saying Stop! That! Disclosure Day! This is our own Barbenheimer.

CW: Disclosure Day has never mentioned this movie [laughs].

CF: Maybe we’ll collab later. I think it’s fun to have a reason to go out together, especially right now in the world, feeling absolutely insane.

V: Once you did realize the film was happening, how did you feel? 

CW: We wrote the script and were living in the world, but there were a bunch of other people who saw it in terms of the release–how we’re going to market this and get people to watch it. I was not there. As the process kept going along, and I realized, oh, RuPaul, putting her in this way, getting all of the cameos together–Lisa Rinna and Matt Rogers–suddenly I was like, oh, all of these arms are in all these different pockets of culture. It was a process of realizing that if enough people collaborate, I have to trust that other people see the vision. It’s not all about the script; it is all the people and artists around it.

CF: It’s trusting the scrappiness of it. When we were on set, we came up with the title of the movie. We didn’t know what it was going to be called until a few days before we stopped shooting. I honestly didn’t believe it was gonna make the screen. I finally had that moment in the edit bay when I saw it all being cut together: oh my god, okay, it exists. 

V: What is the experience of having this film out now, knowing the backlash drag has faced recently?

CF: It’s so special. Voices in a certain area have been so loud, trying to breed division even further within this country. What we are trying to do here is get people back together and laugh, because that’s the best way to fight back–community, joy, laughter, and laughing at really dumb shit, despite all the dark shit that’s happening outside. The strongest thing we have is our community. 

CW: There’s a long history of the queer community laughing, finding joy, and dancing through really dark times. I do think there is an act of rebellion if drag queens are facing backlash that they get to have a movie where they’re having so much fun. Then people see them have so much fun, and have fun themselves. I hope what happens is that there’s a solidarity in terms of going to see this movie, or re-watching this movie with friends years from now, where we can find the time to get together and giggle, even when things are so awful.