Yorgos Lanthimos’ ‘Bugonia’: How ‘Parasite’ and ‘Squid Game’ Success Led the Auteur to Remake Korean Sci-Fi ‘Save the Green Planet’

variety.com:

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Fresh from their Cannes success with “Kinds of Kindness,” iconic director Yorgos Lanthimos and his totemic star Emma Stone are now busily filming “Bugonia,’ a sci-fi conspiracy movie that is a remake of South Korean film “Save the Green Planet.” The film 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.

The adapted script is from “Succession” and “The Menu” writer Will Tracy. While the new film’s co-producer and co-financier Korean conglomerate CJ ENM long ago put in place an IP strategy that involves the development of local and international remakes, the company believes it unlikely that a new “Save the Green Planet” would have taken off without the global expansion of “Hallyu,” or the Korean wave.

The original “Save the Green Planet,” with its elements of comedy and sadistic torture, was directed by Jang Joon-hwan and released in 2003.

It stirred sharply mixed critical reactions and passed largely unnoticed at the box office but has retained cult status among Korean film aficionados. “[It] works on a variety of levels, from gruesome slapstick comedy through social critique to genuinely chilling Grand Guignol,” said Variety’s review at the time, before critiquing an off-kilter final act. “’Save the Green Planet’ was ahead of its time and simply came out too early,” says Jerry Ko, CJ ENM’s head of international film department. “Back in 2003, the world was just beginning to get to know Korean cinema, people like Kim Ki-duk, Park Chan-wook and a few others.