Amazon MGM Studios has dropped Luca Guadagnino's almost-completed film "Artificial," a biopic chronicling OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's dramatic 2023 ouster and reinstatement, according to multiple reports. The studio, which struck a major deal with OpenAI in February that included a $50 billion investment, said the movie "will be better served if it were released by a different studio."
The decision comes as Amazon deepens its financial ties with OpenAI, raising questions about potential conflicts of interest. Guadagnino's film covers the wild five-day period in November 2023 when Altman was fired by the nonprofit's board, briefly hired by Microsoft, and then reinstated following employee uproar — a saga that reshaped the AI industry.
The project features A-list talent: Andrew Garfield plays Altman, Monica Barbaro portrays OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, and Yura Borisov appears as chief scientist Ilya Sutskever. Ike Barinholtz is cast as Elon Musk. The movie was reportedly in post-production and near completion before the studio pulled out.
Guadagnino and the filmmakers are now shopping the biopic to other distributors, though no buyer has emerged publicly. The film's fate remains uncertain given its subject matter and the corporate entanglements surrounding Altman's narrative.
Some industry observers question whether the film's portrayal of Altman — a figure who attracts both admiration and criticism — will find financing from a major studio willing to tackle the complexity of his story.