Filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, who has been churning out back-to-back films in the last two years with Poor Things (2023), Kinds of Kindness (2024) says he wants a "little break" after the release of his upcoming absurdist black comedy Bugonia.
The director expressed his need for a much-needed rest and recalibration in a recent interview with Collider. "Well, I can’t keep doing that anymore. That’s what we're certain of right now," he said, adding, "It’s a big mistake. I think I need a break. I’ve said that before in between the other three, but I’m serious now. You can hold me to it. I’m going to take a little break."
Poor Things, headlined by Emma Stone, received various accolades, including four wins at the 96th Academy Awards, two at the 81st Golden Globe Awards. The duo collaborated once again on Kinds of Kindness when he was waiting for the VFX to be completed on Poor Things. Revealing how he plans his directorials, Lanthimos said, "I decide which film to make every time a script is ready, so when it is ready, and we’ve been working on something for such a long time, it just feels like a shame to just leave it there and wait. So, I kind of forced myself, almost, to try and find the time to do it immediately after I finished something."
He further added, "We shot Kinds of Kindness during that very long period of VFX on Poor Things, so I felt that I needed to do something during that time. Then, Bugonia, I had read three years before, and we worked with Will [Tracy] a little bit on the script, so it felt ready, and we just wanted to go out and make it. So, you find the will and the strength, but at some point, it runs out. We’re at that point."
In Bugonia, Stone plays a powerful pharmaceutical CEO Michelle Fuller, who is kidnapped by two conspiracy theorists - Jesse Plemons and his buddy Aidan Delbis - who are convinced that she's an alien. The rest of the story seems to follow the hunt led by police in search of her and how Stone's character tries to prove she is not who they think she is.
Lanthimos is directing the film from a screenplay by Will Tracy (Succession, The Menu). It is based on the 2003 South Korean comedy Save the Green Planet!, written and directed by Jang Joon-Hwan.
Bugonia marks Lanthimos and Stone's fourth film together after The Favourite, Poor Things, and Kinds of Kindness. It also reunites Lanthimos with Plemons and the latter with Stone after Kinds of Kindness. The film also stars Alicia Silverstone and Stavros Halkias playing key roles.
Focus Features will release the film in theaters on October 24 with Universal Pictures distributing internationally on October 31.
