Bugonia's Writer Discusses the Countless Wild Twists of Emma Stone's Latest Science Fiction Film

Bugonia screenwriter the writer has a hazy memory of what transpires in Save the Green Planet!. This is somewhat unexpected, since he wrote the screenplay for Yorgos Lanthimos’s new reimagining of the 2003 Korean dark sci-fi comedy. Instead of studying the original script for ideas, the writer behind his previous work viewed the film a single time, jotted down some thoughts, and began writing.

“I’ve only seen the original the one time,” the screenwriter states. “My memory was foggy on the movie all that well. My aim wasn't to feel like I had to be slavishly following or remaking or honoring someone else's vision. The most respectful approach to those movies was to have them exist independently.”

While the basic plot of a emotionally troubled man (the actor in Bugonia) who abducts a pharmaceutical executive he’s certain is an extraterrestrial hiding on Earth is largely the identical in both films, the differences are significant. For one thing, Tracy rewrote the executive character, played by a man in Jang Joon-hwan’s first version, as a female character. (The director cast his frequent collaborator the actress in the part.) The endings vary a bit too, in the way they tackle their central question: Is this person an extraterrestrial or not really?

Tracy believes that resolution is somewhat not the main focus.

“I never was really focused on the surprise element,” he says. “I didn't want the film to just be a gadget that performs one surprise, and then once it does that surprise, it's like: OK, well, what else does this toy do?”

However, he has plenty to discuss on the topic. Our discussion with the writer covered Bugonia’s ending and its implications, along with the methods he and the director worked together to execute those surprises.

Warning: Complete details ahead for the conclusion of Bugonia.

Therefore, is Emma Stone an extraterrestrial or not?

In brief: Absolutely.

Just like in the original film, the conclusion of Bugonia reveals that the CEO, a big pharma CEO named her character, is actually a royal extraterrestrial in disguise. Once she manipulates her kidnapper the unstable man (the actor) into killing himself using her teleportation technology, Fuller beams back up to her alien vessel.

The reality that this is unexpected is a testament to Stone’s acting skills. During the two-hour movie, she maintains suspense through a complex portrayal that may require multiple viewings to comprehend entirely.

“She talked a lot about how it was the initial instance 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 think,” Tracy says. "She was aware the second time someone sees this film, They know that I know that I'm… you know?”

Tracy pauses, before continuing, “Thus, her performance needed to reflect of that in her performance.”

Designing the aliens and their spaceship

Once the CEO finally does reveal her true nature, we get a quick look of her ship and fellow aliens before the film ends. Their vessel has a distinct appearance, which Tracy shares was intended to look like a sea creature while steering clear of futuristic aesthetics.

“[The director] was really interested in almost like a jellyfish-type design for the spaceship, something quite organic,” he says.

They should feel strangely somewhat primitive or primitive.

The aliens' clothing is equally fascinating as their ship: rounded dress-like garments made from large, ropey threads. Once more, the aim was to go against conventional science fiction.

“For the costumes, rather than being advanced, they [were meant to|aimed to] appear unusually somewhat primitive or basic, and yet also highly decorative and not primitive, because it's a very detailed and beautiful design on those strange knit costumes,” Tracy says. He notes that Lanthimos “thought of it as being a very ancient civilization. He disliked the idea of anything being smooth and metallic, or some ultra-modern cosmic vision.”

The end of the world (or just humankind)

Perhaps the most significant change between the new film and Save the Green Planet is that in the original Korean movie, the aliens react to their leader's kidnapping and abuse by blowing up planet Earth. This adaptation adopts a slightly subtler approach, with its beings choosing to snuff out all mankind, while leaving the Earth and its other inhabitants unharmed.

“What I wanted to achieve in the screenplay was a vision of the planet after humanity,” the writer says.

In the movie’s final moments, we see a series of shots of existence across the globe. All humans are deceased where they were located moments earlier, but the Earth keeps spinning. What we, as an audience, are meant to interpret all this is open to discussion. Does the conclusion of the film optimistic or bleak? Is humanity doomed or deserving of rescue? Would the world be improved in our absence?

Tracy does not wish to provide a clear resolution either way.

“Some people find it to be a extremely dark conclusion, or a sad finale, a despairing outcome,” he states. “Other people see it as being a strangely optimistic or positive ending. In my opinion there's different ways to understand it.”

The film is currently in limited theatrical release now, with a wide release on Halloween.