Yorgos Lanthimos and his frequent star Emma Stone arrived at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday and unveiled their latest collaboration Bugonia, as part of the festival’s main competition. A reflection on what is “happening now” in society, as Lanthimos told the press earlier in the afternoon, the movie received a 6-minute, 50-second ovation inside the Sala Grande.
Stone stars with Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias and Alicia Silverstone.
A remake of South Korean filmmaker Jang Joon-hwan’s Save the Green Planet!, the film follows two conspiracy-obsessed men (Plemons and Delbis) who kidnap the high-powered CEO (Stone) of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.
After the screening, the crowd was enthusiastic, and Lanthimos and his cast bowed several times. They left holding onto one other’s shoulders in a line.
#Bugonia director Yorgos Lanthimos and stars Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons hold hands and bow during the nearly 7-minute ovation for the film at the #VeniceFilmFestival pic.twitter.com/ALTgvmGZiE
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) August 28, 2025
Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons leave the Sala Grande in a conga line after the world premiere of their new film #Bugonia at the #VeniceFilmFestival.
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) August 28, 2025
‘Bugonia’ received an enthusiastic nearly 7-minute ovation from the audience pic.twitter.com/63KFz9LLXZ
Emma Stone, Yorgos Lanthimos and Jesse Plemons bask in the applause after the premiere of their new film #Bugonia at the #VeniceFilmFestival pic.twitter.com/1im3BbLhgz
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) August 28, 2025
“I love working with Yorgos. I love the material that he’s drawn to and the worlds he wants to explore, and the characters that he’s been generous enough to let me try my hand at,” Stone said at this afternoon’s press conference.
Emma Stone inside the theater for the world premiere of Yorgos Lanthimos’ #Bugonia at the Venice Film Festival #Venezia82 pic.twitter.com/yed62KI6Gx
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) August 28, 2025
Of Bugonia, Lanthimos added, “Humanity is facing a reckoning very soon and people need to choose the right path, otherwise, I don’t know how much time we have with everything that’s happening in the world, with technology, AI, wars, climate change and the denial of all these things.”
Source: Deadline By Nada Aboul Kheir, Nancy Tartaglione
Feature photo source: Golden news
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