Director Adam Shankman has strongly defended his film “Stop That Train,” starring RuPaul Charles, against recent social media accusations of extensive use of generative AI in its production. Shankman explicitly stated on Instagram, “Every shot in ‘Stop! That! Train!’ was made by human hands! There are a sum total of ZERO shots conceived by AI in the movie.” He emphasized that hundreds of VFX artists contributed to the film’s visual effects, ensuring no jobs were replaced by AI, describing the movie as a “fully human made piece of joy and laughter.”

The controversy emerged over the weekend following multiple posts on X (formerly Twitter) alleging that the “Airplane”-esque comedy heavily relied on generative AI. Some commenters pointed to the involvement of Acme AI and FX, a firm reportedly known for its AI-based production methods. One X user commented, “RuPaul movie apparently confirmed to contain mass amounts of genAI with the top billed VFX company literally being AI-based… secret blessing that shit ain’t playing in the UK,” while another noted, “Girlfriend just made a pained sound on FaceTime and when I asked what was wrong they said ‘there’s a ton of AI in the new RuPaul movie.’”

“Stop That Train” features RuPaul as President Judy Gagwell, leading a cast of comedians and drag queens, including “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alums Ginger Mini, Jujubee, and Brooke Lynn Hytes. Together, they attempt to halt a runaway high-speed train, the Glamazon Express, from colliding with a fictional natural disaster called a “Stormaganza.”

Regarding Acme AI and FX, which was co-founded by former Relativity Media executive Ryan Kavanaugh, the company has promoted its technology for shortening production schedules and reducing budgets by using a “gray box” soundstage where AI generates location imagery. An example of this application is on the upcoming Doug Liman film “Bitcoin.” However, a source familiar with the “Stop That Train” production informed Variety that Acme AI was specifically contracted for its visual effects work, and any AI utilization was confined to background workflow processes, meaning it did not appear on screen.

The accusations surrounding “Stop That Train” also followed a previous instance of social media backlash against an April episode of “Drag Race.” During that episode, RuPaul appeared to be “painting” images of the season’s final four contenders that viewers believed to be AI-generated, sparking a wave of fury online. Neither RuPaul nor the “Drag Race” production company, World of Wonder, has commented on those earlier allegations.