Emma Stone: “The intensity and ambiguity are the strengths of the film Bugonia”

Starring in the remake of Jang Joon-hwan’s Save the Green Planet! … playing a biotech company CEO

Director Yorgos Lanthimos: “It will be confusing who to root for… changing the character’s gender was a wise choice”

 [Photo courtesy of Focus Features, Fremantle, CJ ENM. Resale and DB prohibited]

Jang Joon-hwan’s Save the Green Planet! (2003), regarded as a “tragically underappreciated masterpiece” compared to its artistry, has been reborn in Hollywood as the film Bugonia.

With actress Emma Stone in the lead role and director Yorgos Lanthimos—known for Poor Things and The Favourite—at the helm, the project has drawn major attention.

Bugonia will have its first official screening on the 28th (local time) at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, currently being held on the Lido Island in Venice, Italy.

Meeting with reporters from around the world, including Yonhap News, at a hotel in Venice on the 27th—one day before the premiere—Emma Stone emphasized the appeal of the screenplay, saying, “The layers of intensity and ambiguity were an excellent choice by screenwriter Will Tracy.”

The story follows two young men who become convinced that Michelle, the CEO of a powerful biotech corporation, is in fact an alien intent on destroying Earth, and plot to kidnap her.

Stone plays Michelle, the captive—a role originally played by actor Baek Yoon-sik as CEO Kang in the Korean version.

The two young men kidnap and imprison Michelle, interrogating her. At first, viewers are led to believe the youths are nothing more than delusional kidnappers. But as each character’s different sides emerge, the story grows increasingly unpredictable, with violence and plot twists amplifying the film’s tension.

Stone explained: “The strength of this film is that the story continues to unfold even amid extreme tension. You think one thing is happening, then suddenly another happens—and you’re left questioning whether someone is doing the right thing out of goodness, or whether a mad person is committing madness. That judgment keeps flipping throughout the entire film.”

She added that changing the gender of a central character to make it a story of two men kidnapping a woman further enhances the film’s ambiguity. In the original, a man (CEO Kang, played by Baek Yoon-sik) was kidnapped by a man (Byeong-gu, played by Shin Ha-kyun) and a woman (Soon-i, played by Hwang Jung-min).

 Actress Emma Stone

Director Lanthimos also described the gender swap as “a wise choice,” highlighting the film’s ambiguity and richness.

“I think the film has many layers,” he explained. “At first you meet seemingly archetypal characters and think you know who they are. But as time passes, their many dimensions are revealed.”

“You come to understand them more deeply, and realize how complex they really are. At times, you don’t even know who you should be rooting for.”

Lanthimos reflected further: “In today’s world, especially with technology, we are trapped in very narrow frames. Algorithms only reinforce what we already believe, making it difficult to escape that narrow structure. The film also mirrors this.”

 [ⓒAtsushi Nishijima_Focus Features. Photo courtesy of Venice Film Festival. Resale and DB prohibited]

The movie uses conspiracy theories as a vehicle to ask fundamental questions about belief and human nature.

Stone commented: “With algorithms, once you see something online, the same things keep being fed to you. It’s so easy to fall into a rabbit hole. It’s terrifying, but maybe not a new phenomenon.”

“Since the beginning of humanity, we’ve needed stories. Because we’re stranded on this planet Earth, struggling to understand what life is and what it means. If someone tells you a story you can believe in, you cling to it.”

Jesse Plemons, who plays kidnapper Teddy, spoke about a friend obsessed with aliens, linking it to the human yearning for the unknown.

“Talking with my friend Trevor, I realized people want there to be something beyond what they can see—whether it’s God, aliens, or some being pulling the strings,” he said. “That can lead in dark directions—it’s a double-edged sword—but it’s also how myths and stories are born, helping us learn about ourselves in this crazy world. That’s the essence of being human.”

 [EPA = Yonhap News file photo]

By Park Won-hee