Amazon Cancels 'Artificial' Film Amid OpenAI Ties
Amazon has decided to withdraw the highly anticipated film "Artificial," which centers on Sam Altman’s brief removal as CEO of OpenAI, from its release calendar and is exploring options to sell it to other distributors.
The company confirmed this move to Puck late Thursday, stating that Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, communicated the decision to director Luca Guadagnino and his team. In a statement, an Amazon spokesperson expressed respect for Guadagnino and indicated that they believe the film would be better suited for a different studio.
Starring Andrew Garfield as Altman and Yura Borisov as OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, the film has drawn comparisons to "The Social Network." Reports suggest that an early draft depicted Altman in a negative light, portraying him as ambitious and manipulative, a characterization that may have influenced Amazon's decision. A source noted that the final cut of the film took on a much darker tone than originally anticipated.
