This weekend, the world of “Drag Race” expands and is ready to wow moviegoers with “Stop That Train.”
This disaster movie parody is brought to you by Bleecker Street Films and World of Wonder and delivers 92 minutes of absurdist silliness. The film, directed by Adam Shankman and produced by World of Wonder co-founders Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, stars RuPaul as Madame Gagwell, a president trying to avert national disaster while trying to boost her approval ratings.
The President is put to the test when a high-speed train called the Gra-Amazonian Express is struck by lightning and hurtles toward a threatening disaster known as Stormaganza.
Starring alongside RuPaul are former “Drag Race” contestants. Best friends Tess (Ginger Minge) and Dee Dee (Jujubee) play train stewardesses who trade their boring stints on the Stank Rail for the glamorous Gra-Amazonian Express. Except they run into A-Squad (Gramazon Express version of Mean Girls) led by Aishley (Simone), Ali (Marcia Marcia), and Amber (Brook Lynn Heights).
The film also features cameos from Nicole Richie, Lisa Rinna, Raven Symone, Matt Rogers, and Sarah Michelle Gellar.
Stop That Train’s journey to the big screen began 11 years ago with Bailey and Barbato brainstorming ideas. But as the project germinated, the pair continued to tell the story in the unscripted documentary space. But the idea for this scripted movie has always existed, and there’s never been a better time for a comedy that doesn’t take itself too seriously to be released in theaters.
Bailey says, “We’re living in real-life nightmare situations, so we need to laugh.” Written by Christina Friel and Connor Wright, this movie is sure to make you laugh. Bailey added, “Laughter is an activity, it’s resistance. If you can laugh in the face of oppression, it’s resistance. And more importantly, it’s fun. President Gagwell, she’s fun.”
RuPaul may be best known as the host of “Drag Race,” but when Barbato and RuPaul met in the mid-’80s, “he was making a movie called Starbootie,” Bailey says. Randy and I knew from the beginning that Lou was a movie star. ”
Barbato added that RuPaul, who is also a producer on the film, was “a character made for this. Ru is very talented at everything and it’s amazing to watch him act. I’m sure in a few hundred years people will be able to analyze every little gesture and pick out exactly where it’s coming from and who it’s coming from.”
As the film’s development progressed, Shankman scrapped his original idea of setting it inside an airplane and suggested changing the location to a train. “We can use everything that happens on the plane, and we can use the jokes,” Shankman said.
This comedy relies on the queens and “Drag Race” alums to effortlessly land the jokes. Bailey doesn’t think their ability to crack jokes is amazing. “Drag queens are actors. The moment they walk down the runway and step on stage, they’re playing a role,” he says.
The film was shot on location in Los Angeles, on the same set as “Drag Race.” It took 19 days to film and the production employed up to 200 local staff, creating jobs for the local community. That too was independently funded.
And while the film took 10 years to make, Barbato points out that it’s “not all that dissimilar to the trajectory of Drag Race or the trajectory of virtually everything World of Wonder has done. It’s definitely taking time, because most of the work we’re doing is completely independent.”
“We knew we had very little, but we also knew we wanted to create so much,” says Barbato. “This is an indie film in studio drugs, and that’s what it is.”
As for what inspires their storytelling and projects, Bailey says, “The inspiration for World of Wonder all comes from my days in the East Village watching drag shows at the Pyramid with audiences. Whether it’s on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race: Vegas Revue’ or at Drag Con, or at a bar doing ‘Drag Shows.’ It’s so much fun to watch ‘Race’ and do something with the audience. It’s not just fun, it’s healing. Laughter is medicine, chicken soup for the soul,” he said jokingly. “After finishing this movie, my face hurt from laughing so hard. Getting punched in the face by the news was a nice change of pace.”
Barbato admits that he loved working in a scripted space. “I think this film will make people feel more comfortable with our hidden abilities in this field,” he says. Will they be able to make horror? “I have some ideas for horror,” Bailey teases.
For now, Barbato and Bailey hope to bring joy to the audience. Bailey says she wants people to leave “happier than when they came.”
