Key facts
- Amazon has canceled the release of its Sam Altman film 'Artificial.'
- The film reportedly depicts Altman in an unflattering light.
- Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, made the decision.
- Amazon recently invested $50 billion into OpenAI.
- CAA is screening the film for potential new distributors.
Amazon has canceled the release of its nearly completed film 'Artificial,' which focuses on Sam Altman's brief ouster as OpenAI CEO in 2023. The decision was made by Mike Hopkins, who oversees Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios. Hopkins informed the director, Luca Guadagnino, and the production team that Amazon would not proceed with the planned release, citing that the film would be better served by a different studio.
The film, written by Simon Rich, stars Andrew Garfield as Altman and Yura Borisov as OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever. Reports suggest an early script depicted Altman in an unflattering light, portraying him as power-hungry and manipulative, with computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton reportedly calling Altman 'one of the most manipulative people on the planet' in one scene. A source familiar with Amazon's decision indicated that the film's tone became significantly darker than initially pitched, prompting Hopkins to halt its release after viewing a cut.
This reversal comes months after Amazon committed a $50 billion investment to OpenAI. The company is now working with the filmmaking team to find a new distributor for 'Artificial.'