By Raúl Bobé
London, Nov 6 (EFE),- Emma Stone returns to Yorgos Lanthimos’s cinematic universe with “Bugonia,” a film that tackles conspiracy theories through humor and social critique.
In an interview, the actress reflects on how religion has been portrayed, and why she believes God has had “the worst PR campaign in the world.”
Opening in Spanish cinemas on Friday, the film follows Michelle Fuller (Stone), the head of a pharmaceutical company who is kidnapped by a fanatical conspiracy theorist, Teddy Gatz (Jesse Plemons), and his neurodivergent cousin Don (Aidan Delbis).
The pair are convinced that she’s an alien bent on destroying the planet.
During a roundtable with journalists in London, coffee in hand, Stone mused that conspiracy theories have existed “since the dawn of humanity, with the arrival of religion.”
“I think there’s no worse PR campaign in the world than the one God has had,” she said. “This idea that there’s a guy you wouldn’t even want to go out with, someone you must worship on your knees and tell every day that he’s the best in the world, or else he’ll condemn you to hell… I’d tell you to break up with him immediately.”
“If it’s a He — if He even exists — I can’t imagine He wouldn’t be loving and generous, full of empathy and understanding. No offense to anyone who’s religious, but that’s what bothers me: that’s the story we’ve been told for so long.”
The ‘Church’ of Lanthimos
If cinema were a religion, Lanthimos might well be the deity Stone would pray to. “Bugonia” marks their fourth collaboration after “The Favourite” (2018), “Poor Things” (2023), which earned her a second Oscar, and “Kinds of Kindness” (2024).
Their chemistry, seated side by side during the conversation, is unmistakable.
Stone recalled meeting the Greek filmmaker more than a decade ago. She had only seen “Dogtooth” (2009) but “loved it.”
When they finally met, she felt he was someone she could trust, “drawn to the same kinds of stories and worlds,” a bond that has only deepened through their work together.
Jesse Plemons, also part of the interview, seems to have joined Lanthimos’s “church” as well.
Appearing in his second film with the director after “Kinds of Kindness,” Plemons praised his “creative and intuitive” process.
“There are things Yorgos knows with absolute certainty, and many others that aren’t typical,” Plemons said.
“The most interesting way to approach those is by naming them, so everyone, the actors and the crew, reads the script, then goes off on their own to discover what it evokes in them.”
Are We All Conspiracy Theorists?
“Bugonia” is a modern adaptation of the South Korean cult film “Save the Green Planet” (2003). Lanthimos said he was immediately drawn to Will Tracy’s (Succession) screenplay and didn’t hesitate to take it on, though he made some “adjustments” to fit his sensibilities.
“It was such an easy read, exciting, entertaining, and complex, all the things I try to achieve in my own work,” the director said. “I was immediately enthusiastic about being part of it.”
True to his trademark style, surreal, darkly comic, and at times unsettling, “Bugonia” may be one of Lanthimos’s most grounded films despite its intergalactic absurdities.
Beneath its eccentric surface lie themes of climate change, corporate negligence, and the growing chaos of misinformation in the digital age.
Lanthimos acknowledged that as production progressed, the story’s relevance only grew, an “unfortunate consequence,” he said, of the world mirroring his script.
“People construct lies, many lies,” he said. “And now, with technology and artificial intelligence, it’s so hard to know what’s real. You have to dig deep to believe in something until it feels natural… but in that way, we all become conspiracy theorists.” EFE
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