Bugonia's Writer Details the Countless Wild Twists of Emma Stone's New Sci-Fi Film

The film screenwriter the writer barely recalls what transpires in Save the Green Planet!. This is somewhat unexpected, considering he penned the screenplay for Yorgos Lanthimos’s latest reimagining of the 2003 Korean dark sci-fi comedy. Instead of poring over the source material for ideas, the writer behind The Menu viewed the film once, jotted down some thoughts, and started the process.

“I watched Save the Green Planet once,” the screenwriter explains. “I couldn't clearly recall the film in great detail. I didn't want to feel like I had to be faithfully adapting or recreating or honoring someone else's vision. The fairest thing to both films was to have them be judged separately.”

While the basic plot of a emotionally troubled man (Jesse Plemons in the new version) who abducts a pharmaceutical executive he’s convinced is an alien in disguise is mostly the same in both films, the variations are considerable. For one thing, Tracy rewrote the lead role, played by a man in Jang Joon-hwan’s first version, as a woman. (The director chose his frequent collaborator the actress in the role.) The endings differ slightly as well, in the way they address their central question: Is this person an alien in disguise or not really?

The screenwriter believes that answer is somewhat beside the point.

“I never was really focused on the surprise element,” he says. “My intention wasn't for the movie to just be a gadget that performs one surprise, and then after the reveal, it's like: OK, well, what else does this toy do?”

Nevertheless, he has plenty to say on the subject. The interview with the writer covered the film’s finale and its implications, along with the ways he and Lanthimos worked together to bring those twists to life.

Warning: Complete details follow for the conclusion of Bugonia.

Therefore, is Emma Stone an extraterrestrial or not an alien?

Short answer: Absolutely.

Similar to in the original film, the end of this version discloses that the CEO, a big pharma CEO named Michelle Fuller, is actually alien royalty in disguise. After tricking her kidnapper the unstable man (Plemons) into ending his own life using her advanced device, Fuller beams back up to her Andromedon spaceship.

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

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

Tracy pauses, before continuing, “Thus, her performance needed to reflect this awareness in her acting.”

Designing the aliens and their vessel

Once Stone’s character finally does reveal her true nature, we get a brief glimpse of her ship and other extraterrestrials before the film concludes. Their ship has a distinct appearance, which the writer shares was intended to look like a sea creature while steering clear of high-tech visuals.

“[The director] was really interested in almost like a jellyfish-type design for the spaceship, something very natural,” Tracy comments.

They should feel oddly kind of primitive or ancient.

The Andromedons’ clothing is equally fascinating as their vessel: rounded dress-like garments made from thick, woven cords. Again, the aim was to defy conventional science fiction.

“For the costumes, rather than being futuristic, they [were meant to|aimed to] feel strangely kind of tribal or basic, and yet also quite ornate and sophisticated, because it's such an intricate and beautiful design on those strange knit costumes,” the writer says. He adds that the director “viewed it as being a extremely old society. He disliked the idea of anything being smooth and metallic, or a hyper-futuristic look.”

The conclusion of the Earth (or just humankind)

Maybe the most significant change between Bugonia and the original is that in the first version, the extraterrestrials react to their ruler's abduction and abuse by destroying planet Earth. This adaptation takes a somewhat more nuanced method, with its aliens opting to eliminate all human life, while keeping the planet and its remaining creatures intact.

“My intention to do in the screenplay was a vision of Earth after humanity,” Tracy explains.

In the film's conclusion, we see a sequence of scenes of life across the globe. Every person are deceased where they were standing moments earlier, but the world keeps spinning. What we, as an audience, are meant to interpret all this is open to discussion. Is the ending of Bugonia optimistic or bleak? Are people fated to perish or worth saving? Would the world be better off in our absence?

Tracy 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 despairing outcome,” he says. “Other people see it as being a oddly hopeful or positive conclusion. I think there's different ways to understand it.”

Bugonia is currently in select cinemas now, with a wide release on Oct. 31.