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Matthew McConaughey’s new movie, The Lost Bus, is out in theaters on September 19 before moving over to Apple TV+ on October 3. It’s an adaptation of a book based on the 2018 Camp Fire, the deadliest wildfire in California. Matthew plays a bus driver who’s trying to get school children and their teacher to safety.
The Lost Bus co-stars America Ferrera as the teacher and Yul Vazquez as a fire battalion chief. Matthew’s 17-year-old son, Levi, and 93-year-old mother, Kay, have small roles in the film. If you’re wondering whether or not Levi McConaughey is Hollywood’s next nepo baby, Matthew doesn’t want you to. According to Matthew, he made Levi audition for his part (playing Matthew’s movie-son). Not only did MM make his son audition for it, he also made him audition without using his last name. There’s no favoritism if the director doesn’t know your last name!
During a Q&A after the screening, McConaughey brought Levi onto the stage before proudly sharing how he came to be cast in the film.
“I had no idea that this young man, my son, was interested [in acting], but when I pitched the script to the family, as I always do before work, the part about Kevin [McKay] having a son, he asked me one day, ‘Well, how old is he?’ I said, ‘He’s about your age.’ And then he goes, ‘Think I could read for it?’ And I didn’t say anything. That wasn’t enough to make me say ‘maybe’ or anything.”
The actor continued, “He came back four more times and I said, ‘Okay, now he’s working for it, for the idea.’ And I said, ‘Yeah.’ I knew they hadn’t cast the part. Pulled out the camera, worked with him on a scene, and sent that to [casting director] Francine Maisler, and I said — remember I had a note? — I said, ‘I think it might be good enough for a callback.’ And she wrote back, ‘I think it might be good enough to show to Paul.’ ”
McConaughey said he told Maisler, “When you do that, will you do me one favor? Will you pull the last name off so it’s just, there’s no McConaughey on the end of that?”
“She said yes,” the star recalled. “Next call I got, [Paul] said, he goes, ‘That’s the guy, that’s the son.’ And then he was told, ‘Well, that happens to be Matthew’s son.’ And in Paul fashion, he was like, ‘Even better!’ … So this is all due to Paul. My family’s in this film because of this man to the left.”
I like that Matthew made Levi audition without using his last name, and I buy that he had no idea that his son wanted to get into acting before he spoke up about this role. I can also believe that Matthew is very conscious about the whole nepobaby conversation going on right now. That said, I have questions! What last name did Levi use? I’m presuming that it wasn’t Levi Alves. Did he pull a Jack McFarland and go by “Just Levi?” Jokes aside, I honestly don’t have a problem with Matthew’s mom and kid playing his family in a few scenes in a movie. I am, however, side-eyeing the fact that the casting director allegedly didn’t tell the director that he was watching Matthew’s son. I’ve seen The Studio! There’s no way that Paul Greengrass had no idea who Levi was. It’s cute that Matthew thinks that, though.
That said, The Lost Bus is my kind of movie. I probably won’t watch it in theaters, but I will definitely stream it. Speaking of, I like this new trend of studios releasing movies exclusively in theaters for a few weeks before then adding them to the streaming services. It feels like a decent compromise between those who still prefer the theater experience and those who are content watching a movie at home.
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