Overview
- Director Adam Shankman, in a June 2 social-media statement, said “every shot” in Stop! That! Train! was made by human hands and that hundreds of VFX artists worked on the film.
- An early Letterboxd review by VFX artist Gloria Cook drew attention to oddly rendered effects and to Acme AI & FX being top-billed in the end credits, prompting the original questions about AI use.
- Posts on X and threads on Reddit amplified the claims, including a viral X post that drew more than a million views and widespread fan calls for a boycott over perceived AI use.
- Reporting shows Acme AI & FX is credited as a VFX partner, and a production source and trade outlets say the company’s AI was used as a background tool or in workflows rather than to generate final, conceived shots.
- The dispute remains unresolved ahead of the film’s June 12 theatrical release and highlights larger issues about crediting transparency, the use of AI in VFX workflows, and the economic and creative risks for queer filmmakers and VFX workers.