Fresh off the premiere of “Kinds of Kindness” at the Cannes Film Festival, actors Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons are reuniting with filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos for his next film. “Bugonia” is written by Will Tracy (“The Menu,” “Succession”) and will be released by Focus Features.
The story kicks into gear when two conspiracy-obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.
The film is based on the 2003 South Korean sci-fi comedy “Save the Green Planet.” This English language version was developed by CJ ENM with Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen at Square Peg. The production has been financed by Fremantle and CJ ENM.
This is Stone’s fifth film with Lanthmios after “The Favourite,” “Poor Things,” the new “Kinds of Kindness” and the short film “Bleat.” Plemons marked his first Lanthimos collab with “Kinds of Kindness,” which premiered to positive reviews at Cannes on Friday.
Peter Kujawski, chairman of Focus Features, said in a statement: “Yorgos Lanthimos is a cinematic visionary with a singular style that has captivated audiences worldwide. We could not be more excited to partner with him, Emma and the incredible teams at Element, Square Peg and CJ ENM to reimagine this twisted and darkly funny story.”
Christian Vesper, CEO Global Drama at Fremantle, added: “We are thrilled that Fremantle is coming on board for Yorgos’ latest project and are proud to support the wonderful team at Element. Yorgos’ films are consistently innovative and captivating and we are delighted to join him and all the wonderful partners on ‘Bugonia.’”
Element Pictures producers Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe said, “We are so looking forward to working with the brilliant team at Focus Features and are delighted to be reuniting with Yorgos, Emma and Jesse as well as many of the great crew we have collaborated with on recent films.”
And Jerry Kyoungboum Ko said in a statement, “I am thrilled to introduce the intriguing story rooted in Korean Cinema’s hidden gem, in collaboration with the ideal team of talent and producers, alongside the reliable studio. I expect that Yorgos will ignite a dynamic chemical fusion with his unique style and the novelty of the narrative.”
Producers for “Bugonia” are Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe (Element Pictures), Yorgos Lanthimos, Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen (Square Peg), Emma Stone (Fruit Tree), Miky Lee and Jerry Kyoungboum Ko (CJ ENM).
