Rodin Eckenroth/Getty; Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Jamie Lee Curtis spoke about "The Lost Bus" at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. The Oscar winner revealed that she was stunned to learn that mom Janet Leigh had a romantic connection to the real person who inspired the film. Curtis said it was proof that the inspirational film was "born from something much bigger." Working as a producer onMatthew McConaughey's new movie,The Lost Bus,ledJamie Lee Curtisto find a stunning connection between the material and her late mother,Janet Leigh, who died in 2004. The Oscar-winning actress revealed Friday night at the film's world-premiere screening at the 2025Toronto International Film Festivalthat, after boarding thePaul Greengrass-directed project alongside producerJason Blumin 2021, she wanted to meet with the real-life people who inspired the film's story. Curtis recalled to the audience her first meeting with the real Kevin McKay (McConaughey), a bus driver who, alongside teacher Mary Ludwig (America Ferrera), navigated to safety a school bus packed with children during California's deadly 2018 Camp Fire. Dia Dipasupil/Getty She said McKay informed her of "the last happy memory" he had with his mother prior to the fire, which he said involved taking his mom out to see Curtis in 2018'sHalloweensequel. "That was very moving," Curtis observed. "Immediately, I felt a kinship. Then, I spoke to Mary. Mary was much more guarded than Kevin. Kevin was gregarious. Mary was a little more concerned." Curtis remembered that Ludwig, too, recalled a "weird connection" to the actress. "She said, 'My father dated your mother.' [I asked], 'For real?' I said, 'Where?' She said, 'Merced, Calif.," Curtis recounted. "Now, you guys know my mother as Janet Leigh, but before she was Janet Leigh, she was Jeanette Helen Morrison from Merced, Calif., and Mary Ludwig's father dated Jeanette." The audience inside the city's Princess of Wales theater gasped at Curtis' admission, with the performer noting that the connection surprised her as well. Curtis stressed that "this moment with Kevin and Mary was born from something much bigger," and celebrated "the fact that we're all here together with you at the world premiere of a movie about their story told by a master produced by a master, is just a thrilling, weird, connect-the-dots [moment]" before the event ended. Brendon Thorne/Getty In an exclusive interview withEntertainment Weekly, McConaugheyopened up about making the movie. "Hellyeah!" the Oscar-winningDallas Buyers Clubstar said when asked about experiencing any close calls with actual flames during production. Sign up forEntertainment Weekly's free daily newsletterto get breaking news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. "I got to know that damn bus real well, and I actually drove it," he continued. "I'm proud to say I could drive that bus, and I did all the driving and that stuff, and I loved doing that driving 'cause it was urgent. It was fun. It was actually scary because flames and dead ends and stuff were popping up all over. The Lost Busenters limited theatrical release on Sept. 19, before streaming Oct. 3 on Apple TV+. Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly
