Emma Stone on Working With Joaquin Phoenix in ‘Eddington’ and That Viral Bee Incident With Pedro Pascal and Austin Butler at Cannes

Emma Stone says she’s glad she got to rehearse with Joaquin Phoenix before making “Eddington.”

But she’s not always keen on rehearsal.

“We rehearsed. We went through everything,” Stone told me Thursday at the “Eddington” premiere at the DGA in West Hollywood. “Rehearsal is a little bit of mixed bag for me sometimes. Sometimes I really really enjoy it and sometimes I’m like, ‘Oh God we’re just doing it and it’s going to ruin everything,’ but this was one of the good ones.”

Ari Aster’s “Eddington” stars Phoenix as the sheriff of a small New Mexico town during the COVID pandemic who surprises everyone when he announces – including his wife, played by Stone – that he’s going to run for mayor against the incumbent (Pedro Pascal).

Rounding out the cast are Luke Grimes, Austin Butler, Deidre O’Connell, Michael Ward, Clifton Collins Jr., Amélie Hoeferle, Matt Gomez Hidaka, Cameron Mann and William Belleau.

Stone recalled her first day on set with Phoenix: “It was cool. He was a cowboy. He was Joe.”

At the Cannes world premiere of the movie, a video of Pascal and Butler trying to shoo away a bee from Stone went viral.

Just hours before the “Eddington” premiere, Focus Features released the trailer for Stone’s other upcoming movie, “Bugonia,” directed by her frequent collaborator Yorgos Lanthimos. It revolves around two conspiracy-obsessed friends (Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis) who kidnap a high-powered CEO (Stone) because they believe she’s an alien intent on destroying Earth.

The trailer opens with Plemons in a beekeeper’s suit talking about bees and how they collect pollen for their queen.

I asked Stone if the viral Cannes moment was secret promotion for “Bugonia.”

“Wouldn’t that have been an incredible idea,” she said, smiling. “It’s just Pedro trying to help me out carrying a bee around in his pocket and setting it loose and Austin just blows it seemingly into my face and it was like, ‘Bugonia, coming soon!’”

“Eddington” is in theaters July 18. “Bugonia” is set for a limited release on Oct. 24. followed by a wide expansion on Oct. 31.

See more photos from the “Eddington” premiere below.