The drama “Artificial,” about Sam Altman’s attempt to get fired in 2023 from the company he founded, OpenAI, the developer of artificial intelligence (AI) ChatGPT, cannot yet find a publisher, Variety reports. Amazon MGM studio first refused to release the almost finished film directed by Luca Guadagnino, known for the film “Call Me by Your Name,” and then Netflix, A24 and Focus joined in and showed the material.
Altman's main role in the film was played by former Spider-Man Andrew Garfield, and his rival Elon Musk was played by comedian Ike Barinholtz. Russian actor Yura Borisov played another OpenAI co-founder, computer scientist Ilya Sutskever, in the film. As Variety notes, a significant portion of the film's opening is devoted to his character.
Billionaire Jeff Bezos's Amazon initially financed the project, the budget of which, according to Variety, was about $40 million, but during the production of the film it managed to enter into a multibillion-dollar partnership with OpenAI in the field of AI. Officially, the company did not connect the situation with this circumstance, but noted in a comment to the publication that they would prefer that the film be released by another studio.
According to Variety, citing sources, the version of “Artificial” shown to producers presented the main characters as “unsympathetic” and Altman, in particular, was portrayed as a “pathological liar.” By the way, the project was initially compared in the film industry to David Fincher’s “The Social Network,” which in 2010 showed Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg in a critical manner.
Focus Features, Warner Bros, A24 and Netflix have passed on acquiring Luca Guadagnino's 'ARTIFICIAL'.
MUBI and NEON are still interested in the film.
(Source: https://t.co/jGIooIX4AN) pic.twitter.com/4cPCbxUCIK
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) June 21, 2026
Following the refusal of Amazon MGM, the film “Artificial” was offered to Netflix, Warner Bros. Clockwork, Focus and A24, but these studios have refrained from entering into an agreement with Guadagnino's representatives, the sources said. The publication notes that one of A24’s investors is Thrive Capital, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, which also invests in OpenAI and has voting rights on its board of directors.
According to Variety, the “savior” of the film “Artificial” may ultimately become the streaming service Mubi, which is interested in the project. Previously, the company similarly decided to release the horror film “Substance,” which Universal studio abandoned at the last moment. The film, starring Demi Moore, eventually received five Oscar nominations.
According to the publication, the Neon film studio is also interested in the drama with Borisov. In 2024, she also released the film “Anora,” for which the Russian was nominated for an Oscar. The film itself was then recognized at the ceremony as the best film.
