The trailer for The Luckiest Man in America offers the first glimpse of history’s most infamous show scandal. Based on the 1984 Press Your Luck game show episode, the movie, directed and co-written by Samir Oliveros, sees an unemployed ice cream truck driver Michael Larson (Paul Walter Hauser) join the game show as a contestant with a secret.

IFC Films drops the official trailer for The Luckiest Man in America, teasing Hauser’s тιтular character going from being a nobody to winning $110,237 in prize money. In the first look, as Larson’s prize money racks up, Host Peter Tomarken (Walton Goggins) watches in amazement, but at the same time, his success raises the suspicion of those behind the game show, who are determined to find out how he cheats the game. Larson is then hunted as a wanted man as many will stop at nothing to uncover his secret. Check out the trailer below:

The Movie Tells A Story About Michael Larson

Initially premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September last year, The Luckiest Man in America is scheduled to arrive in theaters on April 4. As teased in the trailer, the film features a star-studded cast, with The White Lotus star Walton Goggins as a Press Your Luck game show host, The Sopranos‘ David Strathairn as Bill Carruthers, Game of Thrones‘ Maisie Williams as Sylvia, and John Wick: Chapter 4‘s Shamier Anderson as Chuck.

The retro-looking trailer shows that the highly anticipated thriller will not only chronicle the scandal but also unravel the mystery that is Michael Laron. In an interview, Oliveros teased the film’s unique angle into Hauser’s character, who’s based on a real-life person. The director revealed that the childish curiosity and the boldness Larson has to try to defeat the system as opposed to someone who is perceived as no more than ordinary, is what drew him to making the film in the first place.

Our Take On The Luckiest Man In America’s Trailer

Retro, Scandalous, &Thrilling

The Press Your Luck game scandal is very intriguing on its own. Due to Larson’s win, CBS changed its game design and rules to make sure such an incident would never happen again. As to how Larson won his game in 1984, the truth is that he decoded the light patterns that allowed him to beat the game. Even four decades later, many believe that he won the game fair and square, using his wits instead of cheating in the more traditional sense.

The Luckiest Man in America‘s trailer not only offers a first look into the world-building of the upcoming thriller but also Hauser’s performance as the ice cream truck driver who outsmarted the Press Your Luck game system along with a star-studded cast, which makes the movie even more intriguing than the real-life event it’s based on.

Source: IFC Films