Emma Stone arrives at Palazzo del Casinò for the 'Bugonia' press conference during the 82nd Venice Film Festival on August 28, 2025. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment In Emma Stone's new film Bugonia, she plays a high-powered CEO of a major company who is kidnapped by two rogue conspiracy theorists who believe her to be an alien intent on destroying planet Earth. So naturally, during the film's press conference at the Venice Film Festival today, a journalist asked whether the creative team from the film believed that there are beings up above looking down on us humans. "I don't know about looking down on us," Stone explained before adding that she has adopted the belief system of the late acclaimed mind of scientist philosopher Carl Sagan. "I watched his show, Cosmos, and fell madly in love with his philosophy and his science and how brilliant he seems to be. The idea that we are alone in this vast expanse of the universe - truly not that we're being watched but that we're alone out here - is a pretty narcissistic thing to think." Related Stories Movies Netflix's Italian Takeover: Streamer Brings 3 Starry Titles and Top Executives to Venice Film Festival Lifestyle Julia Roberts Is Team Luca Guadagnino as She Arrives at Venice Film Festival She followed it with a more direct response, delivered in a tongue-in-cheek manner: "Yes, I'm coming out with it. I believe in aliens. Thank you." The two-time Academy Award winner joined frequent collaborator and close friend Yorgos Lanthimos, screenwriter Will Tracy, actor Jesse Plemons, and composer Jerskin Fendrix for the press conference inside the Lido's Palazzo del Casin,ó marking their first official Venice Film Festival event ahead of tonight's world premiere. Stone was polled on a wide variety of subjects that included how she felt shaving her head for the film ("So much easier than any hairstyle"), how she manages fame and success and what it's like to keep working with Lanthimos on such demanding projects. "The opportunity to get to work on these things with him and everyone here, it has been just a dream," she explained. "This film, specifically, there is so much that's happening that I think is reflective of this point and time in our world, and it's told in a way that I I found really fascinating and moving and funny and fucked up and alive." Bugonia also stars Stavros Halkias and Alicia Silverstone. Below is a teaser for the film, which hits theaters in October. The Focus Features release is one of the more hotly anticipated titles here on the Lido as it marks a triumphant return to Venice for Lanthimos, who claimed a Golden Lion for Poor Things in 2023. The film, also starring his muse, went on to win four Oscars, including a second best actress prize for Stone, best achievement in production design for James Price, Shona Heath and Zsusza Mihalek, costume design for Holly Waddington and makeup and hairstyling for Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston. Bugonia follows a more recent partnership, Kinds of Kindness, which debuted in Cannes and went on to divide critics and audiences. The 82nd edition of the Venice Film Festival runs Aug. 27-Sept. 6. More to come. THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day Subscribe Sign Up united kingdom Charli xcx and Emma Corrin to Close BFI London Film Festival With '100 Nights of Hero' U.K. Premiere Venice Film Festival 2025 Netflix's Italian Takeover: Streamer Brings 3 Starry Titles and Top Executives to Venice Film Festival Werner Herzog Hot Off the Venice Carpet, Werner Herzog Joins Instagram: "I Should Share Work With You" Toni Collette Kate Winslet's Directorial Debut 'Goodbye June' Gets December Release, First Look Venice Film Festival 2025 'Memory of Princess Mumbi' Explores Beauty in Small Moments, Loss, and AI (Exclusive Clips) Zurich Film Festival James McAvoy to Headline Zurich Festival's Sounds Section With Directorial Debut 'California Schemin' united kingdom Charli xcx and Emma Corrin to Close BFI London Film Festival With '100 Nights of Hero' U.K. Premiere Venice Film Festival 2025 Netflix's Italian Takeover: Streamer Brings 3 Starry Titles and Top Executives to Venice Film Festival Werner Herzog Hot Off the Venice Carpet, Werner Herzog Joins Instagram: "I Should Share Work With You" Toni Collette Kate Winslet's Directorial Debut 'Goodbye June' Gets December Release, First Look Venice Film Festival 2025 'Memory of Princess Mumbi' Explores Beauty in Small Moments, Loss, and AI (Exclusive Clips) Zurich Film Festival James McAvoy to Headline Zurich Festival's Sounds Section With Directorial Debut 'California Schemin'