- Amazon has dropped Luca Guadagnino’s highly anticipated biopic, Artificial.
- The upcoming film is based on the life of OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman.
- Amazon is now helping the filmmakers find a new distributor for the projec
Amazon has dropped Luca Guadagnino's highly anticipated biopic, Artificial. The upcoming film is based on the life of OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman. Amazon is now helping the filmmakers find a new distributor for the project.
In a statement first reported by Puck, Amazon said it believes the film “will be better served if it were released by a different studio” and added that it is working closely with the production team to secure a new home for the movie.”
Amazon And OpenAI's Partnership
The decision comes just months after Amazon and OpenAI expanded their business relationship through a “strategic partnership.”
Under the agreement, Amazon is expected to invest up to $50 billion in OpenAI, following an earlier cloud-computing deal between the two companies.
The deal will see Amazon's owner Jeff Bezos immediately invest $15 billion in the company, “followed by another $35bn in the coming months when certain conditions are met,” according to the artificial intelligence company's website. This follows a $38 billion cloud computing deal signed by the two companies last year.
Amazon stressed that its decision does not reflect its relationship with Guadagnino, praising the filmmaker as an award-winning director with whom it hopes to work again in the future.
“We have the utmost respect and admiration for Luca Guadagnino as an award-winning film-maker – not to mention a longstanding relationship that we hope to continue,” added Amazon.
What Do We Know About Artificial?
Directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by acclaimed author and screenwriter Simon Rich, the film wrapped production last autumn. It reportedly centres on the dramatic events of 2023, when Altman was abruptly removed as OpenAI CEO before being rehired just days later.
The film stars Andrew Garfield as Altman and Ike Barinholtz as Elon Musk. The story reportedly positions OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever (played by Yura Borisov) as a central figure. Sutskever was among the board members who voted to oust Altman in November 2023 before stepping down following Altman's return.
The movie had been targeting an awards-qualifying US release in late 2026 ahead of a wider rollout in early 2027. That schedule would have helped it avoid direct competition with Aaron Sorkin's The Social Reckoning, a follow-up to The Social Network that explores the fallout from the Facebook Papers revelations.
The ensemble cast of Artificial also includes Monica Barbaro, Cooper Koch, Cooper Hoffman, Jason Schwartzman, Billie Lourd, Angus Imrie, Zosia Mamet, Chris O'Dowd and Mark Rylance.
Before Amazon acquired the project, reports suggested that both Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures had passed on Rich's script over concerns it was “dull.” They also cited sources who deny the script was shopped around and claim it was bought by Amazon at script stage.
Guadagnino's most recent film, After the Hunt, starred Garfield as an academic accused of sexual assault. His other credits include Challengers, Call Me By Your Name, Queer and A Bigger Splash.