Highlights:
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Emma Stone says she believes in aliens while promoting Bugonia in Venice
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She cites Carl Sagan’s philosophy as a key influence
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Bugonia, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, is a remake of Save the Green Planet!
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The film, co-starring Jesse Plemons, will be released in the UK on 7 November
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Emma Stone has said she believes in aliens, speaking at the Venice Film Festival during the promotion of her new film Bugonia. The actor said her view was shaped by astronomer Carl Sagan, who argued it was “pretty narcissistic” to assume humans are the only intelligent beings in the universe.
The subject reflects the central idea of Bugonia, in which Stone plays a chief executive accused of being an alien by conspiracy theorists.
At a press conference, she was asked if she believed in an “ultimate intelligence looking down on us.” Stone replied that she did not think about it in those terms, but Sagan’s perspective strongly influenced her.
“One of my favourite people who ever lived is Carl Sagan,” she said. “He very deeply believed the idea that we’re alone in this vast expansive universe is a pretty narcissistic thing. So yes, I’m coming out and saying it: I believe in aliens.”
Emma Stone’s role in Bugonia
In Bugonia, Stone plays Michelle Fuller, a senior corporate executive kidnapped by two conspiracy theorists who claim she is an alien planning to destroy Earth. The role involves a physical transformation, with scenes showing her character with a shaved head and in confrontations with her captors.
The film co-stars Jesse Plemons as one of the kidnappers, with Aidan Delbis playing his partner. Alicia Silverstone and Stavros Halkias also appear. The screenplay is by Will Tracy, co-writer of The Menu, and adapts Jang Joon-hwan’s 2003 South Korean film Save the Green Planet! into English.
Release plans for Bugonia
After its Venice premiere, Bugonia will be released in US cinemas in late October, followed by a UK release on 7 November through Focus Features.
This is Stone’s fourth collaboration with director Yorgos Lanthimos, following The Favourite, Poor Things, and Kinds of Kindness. Their previous film, Poor Things, won four Oscars earlier this year, including Best Actress for Stone.
Reception at Venice
Initial reviews described Bugonia as surreal and sharply comic. Critics highlighted Stone’s performance and Plemons’s portrayal of a conflicted conspiracist. The Hollywood Reporter said the Stone-Lanthimos collaboration continues to take risks, calling the actor “in top form.”
Director Yorgos Lanthimos said he was “immediately blown away” by the script, adding that the story should not be seen as dystopian but as a reflection of present-day issues. “Humanity is facing a reckoning very soon, with technology, AI, wars, and denial of reality,” he said.
