Key facts
- Neon has acquired distribution rights for the film 'Artificial'.
- Amazon MGM Studios dropped the film 'Artificial' after signing a $50 billion deal with OpenAI.
- The film stars Andrew Garfield as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and centers on his controversial firing and rehiring in 2023.
- Neon plans to release the film this year and aims for an Oscar run.
- The film is described as 'The Social Network' for the AI era.
Neon has acquired the distribution rights for the film "Artificial," a drama about OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, after Amazon MGM Studios dropped the nearly finished project. The decision by Amazon is widely seen as a consequence of its recent $50 billion partnership with OpenAI.
The film, directed by Luca Guadagnino and starring Andrew Garfield as Altman, reportedly depicts the events of a frantic weekend in 2023 when Altman was fired by OpenAI's board and then reinstated. It also features Monica Barbaro as Mira Murati, Yura Borisov as Ilya Sutskever, and Ike Barinholtz as Elon Musk. Written by Simon Rich, the film has been described as "The Social Network" for the AI era.
Amazon stated that the film would "be better served if it were released by a different studio," while industry insiders suggest the unflattering portrayal of Altman and Musk, and the timing relative to the Amazon-OpenAI deal, were key factors. Several other studios, including Netflix and Focus Features, reportedly passed on the film before Neon emerged as the frontrunner.
Neon, known for backing award-winning films, plans to push "Artificial" into the upcoming awards season. The acquisition comes as OpenAI has confidentially filed paperwork for a stock market listing that could value the company at over $850 billion.