Bugonia's Writer Details the Many Surprising Turns of Emma Stone's Latest Sci-Fi Movie

The film screenwriter the writer doesn’t really remember what happens in the original Korean movie. That’s a bit of a surprise, considering he wrote the screenplay for the director’s new reimagining of the 2003 Korean dark sci-fi comedy. Instead of analyzing the source material for inspiration, the writer behind The Menu viewed the movie once, took a few notes, and began writing.

“I watched Save the Green Planet once,” Tracy states. “My memory was foggy on the film all that well. My aim wasn't to feel as though I had to be faithfully adapting or remaking or paying tribute to someone else's vision. The most respectful approach to those movies was to have them each stand on their own.”

While the basic plot of a mentally unstable man (the actor in Bugonia) who kidnaps a pharmaceutical executive he’s certain is an extraterrestrial hiding on Earth is mostly the same in each movie, the variations are considerable. Firstly, Tracy rewrote the executive character, originally male in Jang Joon-hwan’s original, as a female character. (Lanthimos cast his frequent collaborator Emma Stone in the part.) The endings differ slightly too, in the way they address their shared core mystery: Is the character an alien in disguise or not really?

Tracy believes that answer is a bit not the main focus.

“I never was really concerned with the surprise element,” he comments. “I didn't want the film to just be a gadget that does a single trick, and then after the reveal, it's like: Alright, so what's next?”

Nevertheless, he has a lot to discuss on the topic. The interview with the screenwriter touched on the film’s finale and its implications, along with the ways he and the director collaborated to bring those twists to life.

Warning: Complete details follow for the conclusion of Bugonia.

So is Emma Stone an extraterrestrial or not an alien?

In brief: Absolutely.

Similar to in Save the Green Planet, the end of this version reveals that the CEO, a big pharma CEO named her character, is actually a royal extraterrestrial in disguise. Once she manipulates her kidnapper Teddy (the actor) into ending his own life using her teleportation technology, she transports to her alien vessel.

The reality that this comes as a surprise is a testament to Stone’s acting skills. Throughout the two-hour film, she maintains suspense through a layered performance that may take multiple viewings to fully understand.

“Emma frequently discussed how it was the first time she had to give a performance where she felt she had to be aware of people viewing it again. What the repeat viewers are going to perceive,” Tracy explains. "She was aware the upon a repeat viewing a person watches this movie, They are aware I am conscious of… you know?”

Tracy pauses, before continuing, “So she had to be aware this awareness in her performance.”

Creating the aliens and their vessel

After the CEO ultimately shows her real identity, we get a quick look of her ship and other extraterrestrials before Bugonia concludes. Their ship has a unique design, which the writer reveals was intended to look like a marine animal while steering clear of futuristic aesthetics.

“[Yorgos] was really interested in almost like a jellyfish-type design for the vessel, something very natural,” Tracy says.

They should feel oddly somewhat primitive or ancient.

The Andromedons’ clothing is just as interesting as their vessel: bulbous dress-like garments made from thick, woven cords. Once more, the goal was to defy sci-fi movie tradition.

“For the costumes, instead of being advanced, they [were meant to|aimed to] feel unusually kind of tribal or basic, and yet also highly decorative and not primitive, because it's a very detailed and elegant creation on those strange knit costumes,” Tracy states. He adds that Lanthimos “thought of it as being a very ancient civilization. He disliked the notion of anything being smooth and metallic, or a hyper-futuristic look.”

The end of the world (or just humanity)

Maybe the most significant change between Bugonia and Save the Green Planet is that in the first version, the extraterrestrials respond to their leader's kidnapping and mistreatment by destroying the world. Bugonia adopts a slightly subtler approach, with its aliens opting to snuff out all mankind, while keeping the planet and its remaining creatures unharmed.

“My intention to do in the script was a depiction of Earth after humanity,” Tracy says.

In the movie’s final moments, we see a series of shots of life across the globe. Every person are deceased where they were standing just before, but the Earth keeps spinning. How viewers, are supposed to interpret these events is open to discussion. Is the ending of the film hopeful or pessimistic? Is humanity doomed or worth saving? Would the world be improved without us?

The screenwriter does not wish to provide a clear resolution in any direction.

“Certain viewers find it to be a extremely dark ending, or a sad finale, a hopeless outcome,” he states. “Different audiences see it as being a oddly hopeful or happy ending. In my opinion there are various interpretations to read it.”

Bugonia is in limited theatrical release at present, with a wide release on Halloween.