The Writer Details the Numerous Unexpected Turns of Emma Stone's Latest Sci-Fi Movie

The film screenwriter the writer has a hazy memory of what happens in the original Korean movie. That’s a bit of a surprise, since he crafted the screenplay for the director’s latest reimagining of the original 2003 film. Rather than studying the original script for ideas, the screenwriter behind The Menu watched the film a single time, jotted down some thoughts, and began writing.

“I’ve only seen the original the one time,” Tracy states. “I couldn't clearly recall the movie all that well. My aim wasn't to feel like I had to be slavishly following or recreating or paying tribute to another filmmaker's work. The fairest thing to those movies was to have them be judged separately.”

While the basic plot of a emotionally troubled man (Jesse Plemons in Bugonia) who abducts a business leader he’s convinced is an extraterrestrial hiding on Earth is pretty much the same in both films, the differences are considerable. Firstly, Tracy rewrote the lead role, originally male in Jang Joon-hwan’s original, as a woman. (The director cast his regular partner the actress in the role.) The conclusions vary a bit as well, in the way they address their shared core mystery: Is the character an extraterrestrial or not?

Tracy feels that answer is somewhat beside the point.

“I wasn't really focused on the twist aspect,” he says. “I didn't want the film 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?”

However, Tracy has a lot to say on the subject. The interview with the writer touched on the film’s finale and what it all means, along with the ways he and the director worked together to bring those twists to life.

Spoiler Alert: Complete details ahead for the ending of Bugonia.

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

Short answer: Yes.

Similar to in the original film, the conclusion of this version discloses that Stone’s character, a pharmaceutical executive named her character, is in fact alien royalty in hiding. Once she manipulates her kidnapper the unstable man (the actor) into ending his own life using her advanced device, Fuller beams back up to her alien vessel.

The reality that this comes as a surprise is a proof to Stone’s acting skills. During the two-hour film, she maintains suspense through a layered portrayal that may require multiple viewings to fully understand.

“She talked a lot about how it was the initial instance she had to give a performance where she felt she had to be conscious of people watching the movie a second time. What the repeat viewers are going to perceive,” the writer explains. "She knew the upon a repeat viewing someone sees this film, They are aware I am conscious of… understand?”

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

Creating the aliens and their vessel

After Stone’s character ultimately shows her true nature, we get a quick look of her spaceship and other extraterrestrials before the film ends. Their ship has a unique design, which Tracy shares was intended to look like a sea creature while avoiding futuristic aesthetics.

“[The director] was really fascinated by almost like a jellyfish-type design for the spaceship, something quite organic,” Tracy comments.

They should feel strangely somewhat tribal or ancient.

The aliens' attire is just as interesting as their ship: rounded dress-like garments made from thick, woven cords. Again, the goal was to go against sci-fi movie tradition.

“For the costumes, rather than being advanced, they [were meant to|aimed to] feel strangely somewhat tribal or basic, and yet also quite ornate and not primitive, because it's such an intricate and elegant creation on those unusual woven outfits,” Tracy says. He adds that the director “thought of it as being a very ancient civilization. He disliked the notion of anything being sleek and silver, or a hyper-futuristic look.”

The conclusion of the Earth (or only humankind)

Perhaps the most significant change between the new film and the original is that in the original Korean movie, the aliens react to their leader's kidnapping and abuse by destroying planet Earth. Bugonia adopts a somewhat more nuanced method, with its aliens opting to eliminate all mankind, while leaving the planet and its other inhabitants unharmed.

“What I wanted to achieve in the screenplay was a vision of the planet after humanity,” Tracy 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 just before, but the Earth continues. How viewers, are supposed to interpret these events is open to discussion. Is the ending of Bugonia optimistic or bleak? Are people fated to perish or deserving of rescue? Is the planet be improved in our absence?

Tracy isn’t willing to provide 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 oddly hopeful or positive conclusion. In my opinion there are various interpretations to read it.”

The film is in limited theatrical release at present, with a broader opening on Oct. 31.