The idea of conspiracy theories is just a starting point

WHEN Emma Stone and director Yorgos Lanthimos first worked together on The Favourite in 2018, a beautiful creative collaboration was born.

- 

Since then, the pair have reunited on several projects, including Poor Things in 2023, which earned Emma her second Academy Award for Best Actress.

‘Their latest collaboration, Bugonia, offers a darkly comic glimpse into the modern age of conspiracy theories and paranoia.

La La Land actress Emma, 36, who also serves as a producer on the film, stars as Michelle, a ruthless CEO of a pharmaceutical company that manufactures drugs and pesticides.

A remake of the 2003 Korean cult classic Save the Green Planet!, the story follows two conspiracy-obsessed young men, Teddy and Don, played by Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis, who kidnap Michelle, convinced she is an alien sent to destroy humanity.

After chaining her in a basement and coming face-to-face with their supposed enemy, the two sides, the tinfoil-hat basement dwellers and the steely, soulless corporate executive, soon find themselves locked in a battle as viscerally unpredictable as it is unexpectedly moving.

Yorgos, 52, explains that although the film delves into the world of conspiracy theories, these ideas are simply the jumping-off point for a deeper narrative.

"I think the idea of conspiracy theories is just a starting point," the Greek filmmaker says. “It’s a way to explore how people function in our day and age, how they think, how they form communities, groups, and relationships.