The Screenwriter Details the Many Wild Turns of Emma Stone's Latest Science Fiction Movie

Bugonia screenwriter Will Tracy has a hazy memory of what transpires in the original Korean movie. This is somewhat unexpected, given that he crafted the script for Yorgos Lanthimos’s new reimagining of the original 2003 film. Instead of studying the source material for inspiration, the writer behind The Menu viewed the movie a single time, jotted down some thoughts, and began writing.

“I watched the original the one time,” the screenwriter says. “I didn’t really remember the movie in great detail. I didn't want to feel as though I had to be faithfully adapting or recreating or paying tribute to another filmmaker's work. The fairest thing to both films was to have them be judged separately.”

While the premise of a mentally unstable man (Jesse Plemons in the new version) who kidnaps a pharmaceutical executive he’s certain is an extraterrestrial hiding on Earth is pretty much the same in both films, the variations are considerable. For one thing, Tracy rewrote the executive character, played by a man in Jang Joon-hwan’s original, as a female character. (The director cast his regular partner the actress in the role.) The endings vary a bit too, in the way they tackle their central question: Is the character an extraterrestrial or not really?

The screenwriter believes that answer is somewhat beside the point.

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

Nevertheless, Tracy has a lot to say on the topic. The interview with the writer covered the film’s ending and its implications, along with the ways he and Lanthimos collaborated to bring those twists to life.

Spoiler Alert: Full spoilers ahead for the conclusion of Bugonia.

So is Emma Stone an alien or not?

Short answer: Absolutely.

Just like in the original film, the end of Bugonia reveals that the CEO, a big pharma CEO named Michelle Fuller, is actually a royal extraterrestrial in hiding. Once she manipulates her captor the unstable man (the actor) into ending his own life using her teleportation technology, Fuller transports to her alien vessel.

The reality that this is unexpected is a proof to Stone’s acting skills. During the 118-minute movie, she maintains suspense through a complex performance that may take multiple viewings to comprehend entirely.

“Emma frequently discussed how it was the first time she had to act where she felt she had to be aware of people watching the movie a second time. How those rewatching are going to perceive,” the writer explains. "She knew the upon a repeat viewing someone sees this movie, They are aware I am conscious of… you know?”

He trails off, before adding, “Thus, her performance needed to reflect this awareness in her acting.”

Designing the aliens and their vessel

Once the CEO ultimately shows her true nature, we get a brief glimpse of her spaceship 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.

“[Yorgos] was really fascinated by almost like a jellyfish-inspired shape for the vessel, something very natural,” he says.

They should feel oddly somewhat primitive or primitive.

The Andromedons’ clothing is equally fascinating as their vessel: bulbous dress-like garments made from thick, woven cords. Again, the aim was to go against sci-fi movie tradition.

“For the costumes, rather than being advanced, they [were meant to|aimed to] appear strangely kind of primitive or basic, and yet also highly decorative and not primitive, because it's such an intricate and beautiful design on those unusual woven outfits,” the writer says. He notes that Lanthimos “thought of it as being a extremely old society. He disliked the idea of anything being sleek and silver, or some ultra-modern cosmic vision.”

The end of the Earth (or only humankind)

Maybe the biggest difference between Bugonia and Save the Green Planet is that in the original Korean movie, the aliens respond to their ruler's abduction and mistreatment by blowing up planet Earth. Bugonia takes a somewhat more nuanced method, with its aliens choosing to eliminate all mankind, while leaving the Earth and its other inhabitants unharmed.

“My intention to do in the script was a depiction of Earth post-human existence,” Tracy explains.

In the film's conclusion, we see a sequence of scenes of existence across the globe. All humans lie dead where they were standing moments earlier, but the world keeps spinning. What we, as an audience, are supposed to make of all this is open to discussion. Is the ending of Bugonia optimistic or bleak? Is humanity doomed or deserving of rescue? Is the planet be improved in our absence?

The screenwriter isn’t willing to offer a clear resolution in any direction.

“Some people see it as a very bleak conclusion, or a sad finale, a despairing outcome,” he states. “Other people view it as being a strangely hopeful or positive conclusion. I think there are various interpretations to understand it.”

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