The location: Paradise, Butte County, California. The date: November 8, 2018. A faulty transmission line belonging to Pacific Gas and Electric Company caused the "Camp Fire", one of the deadliest wildfires in California's history that led to large-scale devastation and multiple casualties. Kevin McKay, a bus driver who had quit his stable job at a pharmacy store and hoped to save up enough to earn a teaching degree — because he wanted to "do something more" with his life, as described by author Lizzie Johnson, of the non-fiction book “Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire” — was burdened by a huge responsibility.
When the fire broke out, Kevin was driving a school bus with 22 children and two teachers on board, and he had to transport all of them to a safe space.
"And he didn't think they were going to make it," said Johnson in an old interview with National Public Radio. "There was fire on either side of the road. The children started falling asleep. And at one point, he had the teachers make a manifest in case the only thing getting pulled out of that bus were bodies." But Kevin eventually did.
So, it's not surprising that filmmaker Paul Greengrass, known for taking on projects that demand a gritty, documentary-style realism — such as United 93, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Bourne Ultimatum — felt drawn to Kevin's inspiring story.
His script, which he co-wrote with Brad Ingelsby ("Mare of Easttown"), has now been realised in the form of The Lost Bus, which Apple TV+ is bringing to everyone's screens. A teaser trailer, featuring Matthew McConaughey in the role of Kevin, who steers his bus with 22 children and the teachers through the raging wildfire, was released on Sunday by the streamer. The teaser also gives the impression that the makers have gone to great lengths to depict a chilling picture of the destruction.
Apple TV+ plans to launch the film, based on a chapter in Johnson's book, in select theatres and later on streaming towards the end of the year, possibly in time for awards consideration.
The Lost Bus sees Matthew McConaughey back on screen after a six-year hiatus. His last full-fledged lead role was in Guy Ritchie's acclaimed gangster drama The Gentlemen. He is joined in the cast by America Ferrera, who plays one of the school teachers determined to save the children, along with Yul Vazquez, Ashlie Atkinson and Spencer Watson.
Brad Ingelsby, Gregory Goodman, and Jason Blum (of Blumhouse Productions) are jointly producing the film with actress Jamie Lee Curtis ('The Bear", "Halloween"), with Johnson serving as executive producer. It was after Curtis heard Johnson's aforementioned interview on NPR that she thought the book would be ideal for a screen adaptation and pitched it to Blumhouse.
