Director Adam Shankman and drag queen actors discuss their hilariously chaotic twist on the “Airplane!” style parody.
Drag queens possess a unique power to captivate when placed against an ordinary backdrop. Jujubee, a Laotian American drag performer, mused, “Kristen Stewart is a buoy…” while reading a tagline from a poster for the 2024 sci-fi romance “Love Me” in the New York office of Bleecker Street Media. The former “RuPaul’s Drag Race” contestant and star of the new disaster-comedy “Stop! That! Train!” was in full drag and costume, navigating press interviews. Earlier that morning, she and her castmates had appeared on NBC’s “Today with Jenna & Sheinelle.”
Before seeing them, I heard Jujubee and her co-star Ginger Minj, their laughter echoing like glamorous hyenas from another room. Upon their arrival, they made a grand entrance in matching cheetah print outfits, greeting me with dazzling smiles that immediately signaled I was now their audience. Their energetic presence was impressive, though I imagined it must be tiring to maintain such a high level of performance. I inquired about their experience with the press whirlwind.
“It’s been a lot of work, but it doesn’t feel like it,” Ginger shared. “This tour has truly mirrored the process of making the movie.”
“We have to schedule our sleep,” Jujubee added, as she began to carefully remove some elaborate press-on nails. “But I’m so exhilarated and we’ve all managed to stay present, embracing this incredible storm of press.”
They burst into laughter once more.
**English Translation:**
‘A movie for everyone, not just Drag Race fans’: stars of drag comedy Stop! That! Train! on making the summer’s funniest film
Director Adam Shankman and drag queen actors explain putting a brilliantly madcap twist on Airplane! style parody. Drag queens are never more striking than when they’re set against an everyday background. “Kristen Stewart is a buoy…” the Laotian American beauty Jujubee muttered spacily to herself in the hallway of Bleecker Street Media’s New York office, reading out the tag-line of a framed poster for the 2024 sci-fi/romance Love Me. The former RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant and star of the new disaster-comedy Stop! That! Train! was lingering outside an office cubicle in a structured blazer and fishnets as an attentive PR took her order for lunch. By that point she’d been in full wardrobe and make-up all day fielding press, including a mid-morning stop with her castmates at NBC’s Today with Jenna & Sheinelle. I’d heard Jujubee and her co-star Ginger Minj before I saw them, laughing like glamorous hyenas from another room. When they made an entrance, they did so in coordinated cheetah print looks, greeting me with the kind of mega-watt smiles that told me I was now their audience. I was impressed by how “on” they were, but could imagine it was taxing to keep up. How had the whirlwind of press been for them? “It’s been a lot of work but it doesn’t feel like it,” Ginger admitted. “The tour has absolutely mimicked the making of the movie.” “We have to schedule our sleep,” Jujubee added as she slowly began to peel off some cumbersome press-on nails. “But I’m so high on life and all of us have been able to stay in the moment, and live in this stormaganza of press.” They immediately started cackling again.