{"id":91645,"date":"2025-09-01T09:10:02","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T13:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/?p=91645"},"modified":"2025-10-01T09:11:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T13:11:13","slug":"yorgos-lanthimos-hostage-thriller-bugonia-is-a-darkly-funny-take-on-todays-corporate-greed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/yorgos-lanthimos-hostage-thriller-bugonia-is-a-darkly-funny-take-on-todays-corporate-greed\/91645\/","title":{"rendered":"Yorgos Lanthimos\u2019 hostage thriller \u2018Bugonia\u2019 is a darkly funny take on today\u2019s corporate greed"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"75\" data-end=\"518\"><em data-start=\"123\" data-end=\"132\">Bugonia<\/em>, directed by Oscar-nominated Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos, premiered at the 2025 Venice Film Festival. It\u2019s an American remake of the 2003 Korean cult classic <em data-start=\"293\" data-end=\"317\">Save the Green Planet!<\/em> by Jang Joon-hwan. With Lanthimos\u2019 signature dark humor and clinical detachment, the film dives into paranoia, ideology, and societal collapse, making it uncomfortably relevant for modern audiences.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"520\" data-end=\"537\"><strong data-start=\"520\" data-end=\"535\">Cast & Crew<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"538\" data-end=\"835\">\n<li data-start=\"538\" data-end=\"572\">\n<p data-start=\"540\" data-end=\"572\"><strong data-start=\"540\" data-end=\"553\">Director:<\/strong> Yorgos Lanthimos<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"573\" data-end=\"636\">\n<p data-start=\"575\" data-end=\"636\"><strong data-start=\"575\" data-end=\"586\">Writer:<\/strong> Will Tracy (known for <em data-start=\"609\" data-end=\"621\">Succession<\/em>, <em data-start=\"623\" data-end=\"633\">The Menu<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"637\" data-end=\"728\">\n<p data-start=\"639\" data-end=\"728\"><strong data-start=\"639\" data-end=\"649\">Stars:<\/strong> Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, Alicia Silverstone, Stavros Halkias<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"729\" data-end=\"810\">\n<p data-start=\"731\" data-end=\"810\"><strong data-start=\"731\" data-end=\"743\">Release:<\/strong> Limited theatres October 24, 2025; wide release October 31, 2025<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"811\" data-end=\"835\">\n<p data-start=\"813\" data-end=\"835\"><strong data-start=\"813\" data-end=\"825\">Runtime:<\/strong> 2 hours<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"837\" data-end=\"1305\"><strong data-start=\"837\" data-end=\"853\">Plot Summary<\/strong><br data-start=\"853\" data-end=\"856\" \/>Jesse Plemons plays <strong data-start=\"876\" data-end=\"885\">Teddy<\/strong>, a beekeeper and conspiracy theorist convinced Earth is under alien attack. He believes <strong data-start=\"974\" data-end=\"993\">Michelle Fuller<\/strong> (Emma Stone), CEO of biotech giant Auxolith, is an extraterrestrial and kidnaps her to force communication with her \u201calien overlords\u201d before a looming lunar eclipse. Teddy is driven by vengeance: his mother was a victim of Auxolith\u2019s failed drug trials. His insecure cousin <strong data-start=\"1268\" data-end=\"1275\">Don<\/strong> (Aidan Delbis) assists him.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1307\" data-end=\"1431\">The film treads the line between satire, psychological horror, and social critique: is Teddy insane\u2014or terrifyingly right?<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1433\" data-end=\"1451\"><strong data-start=\"1433\" data-end=\"1449\">Performances<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"1452\" data-end=\"1847\">\n<li data-start=\"1452\" data-end=\"1673\">\n<p data-start=\"1454\" data-end=\"1673\"><strong data-start=\"1454\" data-end=\"1468\">Emma Stone<\/strong> shines as the calculating CEO, blending shades of Elizabeth Holmes and Miranda Priestly. Her transformation, including a shocking bald look, makes her a chilling figure who straddles victim and villain.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1674\" data-end=\"1847\">\n<p data-start=\"1676\" data-end=\"1847\"><strong data-start=\"1676\" data-end=\"1693\">Jesse Plemons<\/strong> steals the show. As Teddy, he is wild-eyed, obsessive, and simultaneously tragic and terrifying. Critics have called this his best performance to date.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"1849\" data-end=\"2030\"><strong data-start=\"1849\" data-end=\"1873\">Direction and Themes<\/strong><br data-start=\"1873\" data-end=\"1876\" \/>Lanthimos trades some of his surreal detachment for a more intense, emotional style. With Will Tracy\u2019s sharp, satirical writing, <em data-start=\"2005\" data-end=\"2014\">Bugonia<\/em> interrogates:<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"2031\" data-end=\"2163\">\n<li data-start=\"2031\" data-end=\"2066\">\n<p data-start=\"2033\" data-end=\"2066\">Corporate greed and malfeasance<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2067\" data-end=\"2112\">\n<p data-start=\"2069\" data-end=\"2112\">Narcissism in modern resistance movements<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2113\" data-end=\"2163\">\n<p data-start=\"2115\" data-end=\"2163\">The fragile line between obsession and heroism<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"2165\" data-end=\"2299\">The result is a tense, darkly funny, and emotionally resonant film, marking one of Lanthimos\u2019 most relevant and ambitious works yet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bugonia, directed by Oscar-nominated Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos, premiered at the 2025 Venice Film Festival. It\u2019s an American remake of\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":91646,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[20069],"class_list":["post-91645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-news","tag-yorgos-lanthimos"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/294"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91645\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}