Do aliens walk among us, and, if so, are they masquerading as some of our favourite celebrities? Emma Stone, who stars in Yorgos Lanthimos’s Bugonia as a powerful executive who may or may not be an alien, has an answer to that question. While chatting with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show, Stone was asked to identify the celebrity who is most likely to be an alien in disguise.
Without hesitation, Stone replied, “Willem Dafoe. Hundred percent.“
Colbert noted that Stone was very quick to respond. “It’s so simple,” she said. “If it was like, Willem Dafoe’s actually an alien everyone would be like, ‘Yeah! Obviously. And a great one!’ Like, if they’re all like Willem, bring ‘em on! Land upon Earth, please!” I could see it. Did anyone check to see if Dafoe was on that screen in Men in Black?
Bugonia is based on the South Korean sci-fi comedy Save the Green Planet! It follows two conspiracy-obsessed young men who kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth. Stone plays the CEO, while Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis play the kidnappers.
Reactions to the film have been positive, but our own Chris Bumbray wasn’t wowed. In his review, he said Lanthimos “struggles to find a consistent tone,” and Plemons’ character is just unpleasant. “While he’s meant to be playing a psychopath, Plemons comes across as so odious in the role of conspiracy-obsessed Teddy Gatz that he’s not an easy character to spend two hours with,” he wrote. “Granted, that may be appropriate for the part, but in the Korean film the character had moments of pathos — whereas here, you just want him offscreen. Plemons is a superb actor and goes all in with his performance, but the audience still needs a way in, some kind of emotional anchor.” He did add that it’s “Stone’s performance that makes Bugonia worth watching.” You can check out the rest of his review right here.
Bugonia will hit theaters on October 24. There was also a special screening in Los Angeles for bald folks (or ones willing to shave their heads). I’ve never felt so seen.
