The Writer Explains the Countless Wild Twists of Emma Stone's Latest Science Fiction Movie

Bugonia writer the writer doesn’t really remember what transpires in Save the Green Planet!. It's a little surprising, considering he penned the screenplay for the director’s latest adaptation of the 2003 Korean dark sci-fi comedy. Rather than poring over the original script for ideas, the writer behind The Menu watched the movie once, jotted down some thoughts, and got to work.

“I watched Save the Green Planet once,” Tracy states. “I couldn't clearly recall the movie in great detail. I didn't want to feel like I had to be faithfully adapting or remaking or paying tribute to someone else's vision. The most respectful approach to both films was to have them exist independently.”

While the premise of a emotionally troubled man (the actor in Bugonia) who kidnaps a pharmaceutical executive he’s certain is an extraterrestrial hiding on Earth is mostly the identical in each movie, the differences are notable. Firstly, Tracy rewrote the executive character, originally male in the director's first version, as a female character. (Lanthimos cast his regular partner Emma Stone in the role.) The endings vary a bit too, in the way they tackle their central question: Is the character an extraterrestrial or not really?

The screenwriter believes that answer is somewhat beside the point.

“I never was really focused on the twist aspect,” he comments. “I didn't want the movie to just be a gadget that performs a single trick, and then after the reveal, it's like: OK, well, what else does this toy do?”

Nevertheless, Tracy has a lot to say on the topic. Our discussion with the screenwriter covered the film’s finale and what it all means, along with the ways he and the director collaborated to bring those twists to life.

Spoiler Alert: Full spoilers ahead for the ending of the movie.

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

In brief: Yes.

Just like in the original film, the conclusion of this version reveals that Stone’s character, a pharmaceutical executive named Michelle Fuller, is in fact a royal extraterrestrial in disguise. Once she manipulates her captor Teddy (the actor) into killing himself using her teleportation technology, Fuller beams back up to her alien vessel.

The reality that this is unexpected is a proof to Stone’s acting skills. Throughout the two-hour film, she maintains suspense through a complex performance that may require several rewatches to fully understand.

“Emma talked a lot about how it was the first time she had to act where she felt she had to be conscious of people viewing it again. What the repeat viewers are going to think,” the writer explains. "She was aware the upon a repeat viewing someone sees this film, They are aware I am conscious of… you know?”

He trails off, before continuing, “Thus, her performance needed to reflect of that in her performance.”

Creating the Andromedons and their vessel

After the CEO finally does reveal her real identity, we get a quick look of her spaceship and fellow aliens before Bugonia ends. Their ship has a distinct appearance, which the writer shares was meant to look like a sea creature while steering clear of futuristic aesthetics.

“[The director] was really interested in almost like a jellyfish-inspired shape for the spaceship, something quite organic,” Tracy says.

The goal was for them to seem oddly somewhat primitive or ancient.

The aliens' attire is just as interesting as their ship: rounded robes made from thick, woven cords. Once more, the aim was to go against conventional science fiction.

“For the costumes, rather than being advanced, they [were meant to|aimed to] feel unusually somewhat primitive or primitive, and yet also highly decorative and sophisticated, because it's such an intricate and beautiful design on those unusual woven outfits,” Tracy states. He notes that Lanthimos “viewed it as being a very ancient civilization. He wasn't into the notion of anything being sleek and silver, or a hyper-futuristic look.”

The conclusion of the world (or only humanity)

Perhaps the most significant change between the new film and Save the Green Planet is that in the original Korean movie, the extraterrestrials react to their ruler's abduction and mistreatment by blowing up the world. This adaptation adopts a somewhat more nuanced method, with its beings opting to eliminate all mankind, while keeping the planet and its other inhabitants unharmed.

“What I wanted to do in the screenplay was a depiction of Earth after humanity,” the writer explains.

In the film's conclusion, we see a sequence of scenes of existence across the globe. Every person lie dead where they were located just before, but the Earth keeps spinning. How viewers, are meant to make of these events is up for debate. Is the ending of the film hopeful or pessimistic? Is humanity fated to perish or deserving of rescue? Would the world be better off in our absence?

Tracy does not wish to offer a clear resolution in any direction.

“Certain viewers see it as a extremely dark ending, or a sad finale, a despairing outcome,” he says. “Other people view it as being a strangely hopeful or happy ending. In my opinion there's different ways to read it.”

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