Bugonia's Screenwriter Discusses the Numerous Surprising Twists of Emma Stone's Latest Science Fiction Movie

Bugonia screenwriter Will Tracy barely recalls what transpires in Save the Green Planet!. That’s a bit of a surprise, considering he crafted the script for Yorgos Lanthimos’s new adaptation of the 2003 Korean dark sci-fi comedy. Rather than studying the original script for ideas, the screenwriter behind The Menu watched the film a single time, took a few notes, and got to work.

“I watched Save the Green Planet once,” the screenwriter states. “I didn’t really remember the movie all that well. My aim wasn't to feel as though I had to be slavishly following or remaking or honoring someone else's vision. The fairest thing to both films was to have them each stand on their own.”

While the premise of a emotionally troubled man (the actor in the new version) who kidnaps a business leader he’s certain is an alien in disguise is pretty much the identical in both films, the variations are significant. To start, the writer rewrote the lead role, played by a man in Jang Joon-hwan’s first version, as a woman. (The director cast his regular partner Emma Stone in the part.) The endings vary a bit too, in the way they address their central question: Is this person an alien in disguise or not?

Tracy feels that resolution is somewhat beside the point.

“I wasn't really concerned with the twist aspect,” he comments. “My intention wasn't for the film to just be a gadget that does one surprise, and then once it does that surprise, it's like: Alright, so what's next?”

Nevertheless, Tracy has a lot to discuss on the topic. The interview with the writer covered Bugonia’s ending and what it all means, along with the methods he and the director collaborated to execute those surprises.

Warning: Full spoilers follow for the conclusion of the movie.

Therefore, is the character an alien or not an alien?

In brief: Absolutely.

Similar to in the original film, the conclusion of this version reveals that the CEO, a big pharma CEO named Michelle Fuller, is actually a royal extraterrestrial in disguise. Once she manipulates her kidnapper the unstable man (the actor) into killing himself using her advanced device, she transports to her alien vessel.

The reality that this is unexpected is a proof to Stone’s acting skills. Throughout the two-hour movie, she keeps audiences guessing through a layered portrayal that may take several rewatches to fully understand.

“She 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. What the repeat viewers are going to think,” Tracy explains. "She was aware the upon a repeat viewing a person watches this film, They are aware I am conscious of… you know?”

He trails off, before continuing, “So she had to be aware this awareness in her performance.”

Creating the Andromedons and their spaceship

After Stone’s character finally does reveal her real identity, we get a brief glimpse of her ship and fellow aliens before Bugonia concludes. Their vessel has a unique design, which the writer shares was meant to look like a marine animal while avoiding futuristic aesthetics.

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

They should feel oddly kind of tribal or primitive.

The aliens' clothing is just as interesting as their vessel: rounded dress-like garments made from thick, woven cords. Once more, the aim was to defy conventional science fiction.

“For the costumes, rather than being futuristic, they [were meant to|aimed to] appear unusually kind of primitive or primitive, and yet also quite ornate and not primitive, because it's a very detailed and beautiful design on those strange knit costumes,” Tracy says. He notes that the director “viewed it as being a very ancient civilization. He disliked the idea of anything being sleek and silver, or a hyper-futuristic look.”

The conclusion of the Earth (or only humanity)

Maybe the most significant change between the new film and Save the Green Planet is that in the first version, the extraterrestrials respond to their leader's kidnapping and mistreatment by blowing up the world. This adaptation takes a slightly subtler approach, with its beings opting to eliminate all mankind, while keeping the planet and its other inhabitants unharmed.

“What I wanted to achieve in the script was a vision of the planet post-human existence,” the writer says.

In the film's conclusion, we see a series of shots of life across the planet. Every person lie dead where they were located just before, but the Earth continues. What we, as an audience, are supposed to make of these events is up for debate. Is the ending of the film hopeful or pessimistic? Are people fated to perish or worth saving? Would the world be improved without us?

Tracy does not wish to provide a definitive answer either way.

“Some people see it as a very bleak conclusion, or a sad ending, a despairing outcome,” he states. “Other people view it as being a oddly hopeful or happy conclusion. In my opinion there are various interpretations to read it.”

The film is currently in limited theatrical release at present, with a broader opening on Halloween.