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VENICE, Italy (AP) \u2014 In the new Yorgos Lanthimos film \u201cBugonia,\u201d<\/a> 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,<\/a> believes his hostage, played by Emma Stone,<\/a> is an alien. While the situation is heightened, Lanthimos believes that the film isn\u2019t so far-fetched.<\/p>\n \u201cNot much of the dystopia in this film is very fictional,\u201d Yorgos said Thursday at the Venice Film Festival. \u201cA lot of it is very reflective of the real world.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBugonia\u201d is having its world premiere Thursday evening at the prestigious festival, where it\u2019s in competition for the top prize, the Golden Lion. Focus Features is releasing the film<\/a> in North American theaters on Oct. 24.<\/p>\n The film is a remake of the 2003 Korean film \u201cSave the Green Planet!,\u201d and blends elements of science fiction, horror and comedy. Plemons\u2019 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI have never before been given a script that felt so ready to be made,\u201d Lanthimos said. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n This is Stone\u2019s fourth time working with Lanthimos and Plemons\u2019 second. Both recently appeared in the film \u201cKinds of Kindness.\u201d<\/a> Lanthimos last had a film at Venice in 2023, when \u201cPoor Things\u201d won the Golden Lion prize. It went on to win several Oscars including best actress for Stone.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI love the material he\u2019s drawn to and the worlds he wants to explore,\u201d Stone said. She added that although it sounds cliche, having familiar cast and crew around feels like family and a \u201creally comforting and safe environment to explore.\u201d<\/p>\n Part of the role required shaving her head, which she said was the \u201ceasiest thing in the world.\u201d Stone said she especially loved how \u201cfunny and (expletive) up and alive\u201d the script was, and how it reflected the world.<\/p>\n Over the course of developing the script and making the film, Lanthimos said its themes only became more relevant.<\/p>\n \u201cHumanity is facing a reckoning very soon,\u201d Lanthimos said. \u201cPeople need to choose the right path in many ways otherwise I don\u2019t know how much time we have with everything that\u2019s happening in the world with technology, with AI, with wars \u2026 climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that he hopes his film \u201cwill trigger people to think about what\u2019s happening today all over the world.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014<\/p>\n