Joey Magidson
A Yorgos Lanthimos film is a very specific cinematic beast. So, writing for him requires both an imagination as well as a dedicated set of skills. Moreover, with Bugonia, screenwriter Will Tracy also needed to adapt a well regarded South Korean movie in Save the Green Planet! (no pressure). That Bugonia has been as heavily praised as it has is a testament to Lanthimos, of course, as well as stars Jesse Plemons and Emma Stone (also a producer), but Tracy as well. With the flick set to go nationwide after a boffo limited rollout over the weekend, I hopped on Zoom with Tracy to get into it all. We spent nearly a half hour chatting, with the conversation presented to you today.
Back at the Telluride Film Festival (here), I spoke of Lanthimos and Tracy’s work like so:
Director Yorgos Lanthimos and writer Will Tracy are doing their version of an Ari Aster flick (he’s a producer here, so it’s not an accident), with incredibly successful results. Their adaptation is not too far afield from the original film, though it’s clearly filtered through Lanthimos’ unique lens. Working again with cinematographer Robbie Ryan and composer Jerskin Fendrix, there’s a familiarity to the style, though it looks and sounds completely new. The politics on display, as well as the humanity, give this the feel of Lanthimos experimenting. Armed with Plemons and Stone, he’s able to, along with Aster and Tracy, prove that a remake can still be wholly original.
Below, you can hear my chat with Tracy. He was very generous with his time, both before and after recording, so we’re able to discuss a lot here. We get into how he goes about adapting, specifically with this title, but also more in general, as well as what it’s like working with Lanthimos. Tracy is a very sweet man, which makes the dark comedy of Bugonia even more effective, and you can hear the joy for his work that he has in his voice. Once you see the film, you’ll understand. Without question, it’s one of the most memorable movies of the year, with Tracy one of the many reasons why.
Here now is my interview with Bugonia screenwriter Will Tracy. Enjoy:
Bugonia is in select theaters now and opens wide this weekend!
[…] there than usual for the group, and I loved every moment of it. I spoke to screenwriter Will Tracy here about the adaptation (as well as the original work), so definitely give that a listen, as it’s a […]