Amazon MGM Studios has dropped Artificial, Luca Guadagnino’s feature starring Andrew Garfield as the controversial co-founder and CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman.
In a statement an Amazon spokesperson said, “We have the utmost respect and admiration for Luca Guadagnino as an award-winning filmmaker – not to mention a longstanding relationship that we hope to continue. We believe that Artificial will be better served if it were released by a different studio and are working closely with the filmmaking team to find the film a new home.”
According to reports Mike Hopkins, the head of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, made the decision and informed Guadagnino, who collaborated with the studio on last season’s psychological thriller After The Hunt.
While no reason was given for the move, first reported on Puck late on Thursday night, it is not a stretch to see how the feature about Altman’s firing and rehiring in late 2023 could be problematic for Amazon MGM Studios. In February Amazon announced a strategic partnership with OpenAI to accelerate AI innovation and pledged to invest $50bn in the company.
Altman is a contentious figure in the rapidly-growing AI sector. OpenAI is the company is behind the popular ChatGPT app and recently discontinued the text-to-video Sora app over costs, copyright concerns, and growing competition.
Altman’s employment gymnastics in late 2023 stemmed from concern among board members over an alleged lack of trust and safety guardrails, and a shift away from the company’s original nonprofit goals.
On that note, Elon Musk recently lost a lawsuit against Altman after the Tesla and SpaceX head argued OpenAI “stole a charity” and leadership unjustly enriched themselves when they moved away from the company’s humanitarian roots. OpenAI is preparing for an IPO in which Altman is reportedly seeking a $1tn valuation.
CAA Media Finance is shopping the film to potential new distributors and has been screening the film, which is close to being completed.
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