Amazon MGM drops release of Sam Altman film
The Luca Guadagnino film Artificial, about Sam Altman’s 2023 ouster and return at OpenAI, is being shopped to another studio.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
2 min read
Amazon MGM will not release Artificial, Luca Guadagnino’s film about OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, according to reports cited by The Verge. The move matters because the movie focuses on one of the most closely watched corporate crises in the AI industry: Altman’s firing and reinstatement in 2023.
Puck first reported Amazon MGM’s decision not to release the film, according to The Verge. Deadline later published a statement from the studio saying Amazon MGM believes the film would be better handled by another distributor and that it is working with the filmmakers to find a new home.
Artificial had been in development for about a year, according to The Verge, which cited earlier reporting by The Hollywood Reporter. The film centers on the five-day stretch in 2023 that began with Altman’s removal as OpenAI CEO and ended with his return to the role.
The film is directed by Guadagnino and stars Andrew Garfield, according to The Verge. The cast also includes Monica Barbaro as OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati, Ike Barinholtz as Elon Musk, and Yura Borisov as OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever.
Amazon MGM’s statement to Deadline did not say why the studio chose to step away from releasing the film. It also did not identify a new distributor.
The Verge noted that Amazon and OpenAI have business ties. Amazon announced in February a $50 billion investment in the AI lab, according to The Verge.
The studio’s decision leaves the film’s release path unresolved while the production team looks for another company to distribute it. No release date or new studio was named in the reports.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.