For Yorgos Lanthimos, new Emma Stone film ‘Bugonia’ isn’t a dystopia. It’s real

VENICE, Italy (AP) — In the new Yorgos Lanthimos film “Bugonia,” a disturbed, conspiracy obsessed man kidnaps the head of a pharmaceutical company and tortures her in an attempt to save humanity. The kidnapper, played by Jesse Plemons, believes his hostage, played by Emma Stone, is an alien. While the situation is heightened, Lanthimos believes that the film isn’t so far-fetched.

“Not much of the dystopia in this film is very fictional,” Yorgos said Thursday at the Venice Film Festival. “A lot of it is very reflective of the real world.”

“Bugonia” had its world premiere Thursday evening at the prestigious festival, where it’s in competition for the top prize, the Golden Lion. Focus Features is releasing the film in North American theaters on Oct. 24.

The film is a remake of the 2003 Korean film “Save the Green Planet!,” and blends elements of science fiction, horror and comedy. Plemons’ character is obsessed with the idea that Stone is one of an alien species that has have infiltrated Earth with plans to destroy it. The adaptation, written by Will Tracy, has been in development for several years, with Ari Aster involved before Lanthimos came on board to direct.

“I have never before been given a script that felt so ready to be made,” Lanthimos said. “I just thought it was so funny and entertaining but also extremely impactful and made you really think about things deeply. I immediately was interested in making it. It felt very relevant then and that was three years ago and it feels even more relevant now.”

This is Stone’s fourth time working with Lanthimos and Plemons’ second. Both recently appeared in the film “Kinds of Kindness.” Lanthimos last had a film at Venice in 2023, when “Poor Things” won the Golden Lion prize. It went on to win several Oscars including best actress for Stone.

“I love the material he’s drawn to and the worlds he wants to explore,” Stone said. She added that although it sounds cliche, having familiar cast and crew around feels like family and a “really comforting and safe environment to explore.”

Part of the role required shaving her head, which she said was the “easiest thing in the world.” Stone said she especially loved how “funny and (expletive) up and alive” the script was, and how it reflected the world.

Over the course of developing the script and making the film, Lanthimos said its themes only became more relevant.

“Humanity is facing a reckoning very soon,” Lanthimos said. “People need to choose the right path in many ways otherwise I don’t know how much time we have with everything that’s happening in the world with technology, with AI, with wars … climate change.”

He added that he hopes his film “will trigger people to think about what’s happening today all over the world.”

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For more coverage of the 2025 Venice Film Festival, visit https://apnews.com/hub/venice-film-festival.

Emma Stone poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Bugonia' during the 82nd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Director Yorgos Lanthimos poses for photographers on the red carpet for the film 'Bugonia' during the 82nd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Jesse Plemons poses for photographers on the red carpet for the film 'Bugonia' during the 82nd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Emma Stone poses for photographers on the red carpet for the film 'Bugonia' during the 82nd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (Photo by Alessandra Tarantino/Invision/AP)

Emma Stone poses for photographers on the red carpet for the film 'Bugonia' during the 82nd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (Photo by Alessandra Tarantino/Invision/AP)

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Vote counting was underway Friday in Uganda’s tense presidential election, which was held a day earlier amid an internet shutdown, voting delays and complaints by an opposition leader who said some of his polling agents had been detained by the authorities.

Opposition leader Bobi Wine said Thursday he was unable to leave his house and that his polling agents in rural areas were abducted before voting started, undermining his efforts to prevent electoral offenses such as ballot stuffing.

Wine is hoping to end President Yoweri Museveni's four-decade rule in an election during which the military was deployed and heavy security was posted outside his house near Kampala, the Ugandan capital, after the vote.

The musician-turned-politician wrote on X on Thursday that a senior party official in charge of the western region had been arrested, adding there was “massive ballot stuffing everywhere.”

Rural Uganda, especially the western part of the country, is a ruling-party stronghold, and the opposition would be disadvantaged by not having polling agents present during vote counting.

To try to improve his chances of winning, Wine had urged his supporters to “protect the vote” by having witnesses document alleged offenses at polling stations, in addition to deploying official polling agents.

Wine faced similar setbacks when he first ran for president five years ago. Museveni took 58% of the vote, while Wine got 35%, according to official results. Wine said at the time that the election had been rigged in favor of Museveni, who has spoken disparagingly of his rival.

Museveni, after voting on Thursday, said the opposition had infiltrated the 2021 election and defended the use of biometric machines as a way of securing the vote in this election.

Museveni has served the third-longest tenure of any African leader and is seeking to extend his rule into a fifth decade. The aging president’s authority has become increasingly dependent on the military, which is led by his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba.

Uganda has not witnessed a peaceful transfer of presidential power since independence from British colonial rule six decades ago.

Voters line up to cast their ballots at a polling station, during the presidential election, in the capital, Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Election officials count ballots after the polls closed for the presidential election at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

An election official holds up unmarked ballots during the vote count after polls closed for the presidential election, at a polling center in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

A political representative speaks as he works to observe and verify the counting of ballots after polls closed in the presidential election at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

A supporter of leading opposition candidate Bobi Wine cheers while watching election officials count ballots, after polls closed at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)