You can’t spell “Stop! That! Train!” without AI — but you can make a movie without it, according to director Adam Shankman.
The filmmaker behind “A Walk to Remember” and “Hairspray” took to Instagram on Tuesday to shoot down speculation that his upcoming theatrical release with RuPaul heavily features generative artificial intelligence, following fan rumors on social media platforms like X and Letterboxd.
“Every shot in ‘Stop! That! Train!’ was made by human hands! It’s come to my attention that there is some on-line speculation that ‘Stop! That! Train!’ is full of fully generative AI shot and I’m here to tell you this is patently not true,” Shankman wrote. “There are a sum total of ZERO shots conceived by AI in the movie. We employed hundreds of VFX artists who all killed themselves getting this out for release and not one job was taken out of human hands. The movie is a fully human made piece of joy and laughter.”
He concluded his message: “Take it in and enjoy it y’all! We need the laughter!”
His comments come after some early screening viewers reported seeing AI in the film from World of Wonder and Bleecker Street. While Acme AI & FX is listed in the credits, the inclusion could be attributed to pre-viz or something similar.
In addition to RuPaul, the film stars “Drag Race” royalty like Jujubee, Ginger Minj, Brooke Lynn Hytes, Symone, Marcia Marcia Marcia (aka Marty Lauter), Monét X Change, Latrice Royale and Angeria Paris VanMichaels, as well as a smörgåsbord of other queer icons and allies.
“Stop! That! Train!” crashes into theaters on June 12.
