"The Lost Bus" Teaser: Matthew McConaughey Plays a Bus Driver Rescuing Stranded Kids in Director Paul Greengrass's New Wildfire Survival Thriller
In a race against time and flames, a school bus driver (McConaughey) and a teacher (America Ferrera) fight to save 22 stranded children during the deadly 2018 Camp Fire.
California is well known for its long history with earthquakes. Hell, there are several movies about them. For decades we’ve feared that the San Andreas Fault will finally open up and swallow half the state. But any California native will tell you that while “the Big One” is certainly a major concern, seasonal fires might be the biggest threat right now. With the weather growing drier and hotter each year, many residents aren’t just worried about wildfires, they’re worried about whether this is the year they’ll have to pack up and run.
Another concern: who will be there to help and rescue some of the most vulnerable when disaster strikes, especially as first responders and firefighters will likely be busy on the frontlines? Well, here’s a movie about an ordinary bus driver who goes above and beyond when the moment calls for it—all set against the real-life tragedy of the 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California, which devastated much of the town of Paradise.
Check out the first official teaser trailer for The Lost Bus, director Paul Greengrass’s new pulse-pounding, heart-tugging thriller inspired by true events. Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey takes on the role of a local hero, a school bus driver who finds himself at the center of an unimaginable crisis. When a fast-moving wildfire traps 22 kids on a winding escape route, he joins forces with a no-nonsense teacher (played by Barbie’s America Ferrera) to outrun the flames, dodge falling debris, and face impossible choices—all while the clock (and temperature) rises.
In the teaser, we see McConaughey’s character hearing a rescue call to pick up and transport 22 stranded elementary school kids to safety. We feel the tension in his face as he takes a long beat before picking up the radio. He looks around his empty school bus apprehensively, as the voice on the other line hollers “Is there anybody that can go and pick these kids up?” While fully knowing that the road ahead is likely dangerous and filled with unforeseeable challenges, his choice is clear: he must answer the call.
The film is based on Lizzie Johnson’s harrowing book Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire.
Apparently, after hearing Johnson in an interview with NPR, actress Jamie Lee Curtis was compelled to read the book. She immediately took the project to producer Jason Blum, of Blumhouse, where they soon bought the film rights. Now both Curtis and Blum are producers on the film.
British director Paul Greengrass, best known for The Bourne franchise, feels like a perfect fit for the film—he’s made a career of visually adapting real-life tragedies with an urgent, near real-time intensity. From the harrowing 9/11 hijacking thriller United 93 to the real-life white-knuckle thrillers Captain Phillips and 22 July, Greengrass has proven himself to be a real master at recreating devastating events with raw honesty and human depth.
Additionally, Greengrass also co-wrote the screenplay with Brad Ingelsby, creator of the award-winning HBO miniseries Mare of Easttown. Ingelsby just created a new HBO limited series Task coming out this year with Mark Ruffalo in the lead, as well as wrote the upcoming Julianne Moore-Sydney Sweeney mother-daughter thriller Echo Valley, out this week on Apple TV+.
Also starring Yul Vazquez, Ashlie Atkinson, and Spencer Watson, The Lost Bus is looking to be a powerful story about how sometimes the greatest heroes are the ones who are simply willing to pick up and answer the call when no one else can... or will. The film is coming this fall to select theaters and Apple TV+.
Official Synopsis:
From director Paul Greengrass and inspired by real events, “The Lost Bus” is a white-knuckle ride through one of America’s deadliest wildfires as a wayward school bus driver (Matthew McConaughey) and a dedicated school teacher (America Ferrera) battle to save 22 children from the terrifying inferno.