Amazon Shelves Luca Guadagnino's 'Artificial' as OpenAI Partnership Deepens

Amazon MGM Studios has pulled the plug on Luca Guadagnino's film "Artificial," which is nearly complete and was set to premiere on the streaming platform. The decision came down from Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios chief Mike Hopkins, according to reporting from Puck.

The project centers on OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, with Oscar-nominated actor Andrew Garfield taking on the lead role as the tech executive. The film has been described as a "comedic drama set in the world of artificial intelligence."

The timing of the move is notable: Amazon made a $50 billion investment into OpenAI as part of a newly announced partnership between the two companies just months before shelving the project.

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, 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."

The film's narrative focuses on events from 2023 surrounding Altman's dramatic firing and subsequent rehiring at OpenAI. Co-founder Ilya Sutskever is portrayed by "Anora" actor Yura Borisov, while the ensemble cast features Andrew Garfield's real-life girlfriend Monica Barbaro, Jason Schwartzman, Cooper Hoffman, Cooper Koch, Ike Barinholtz, Billie Lourd, Zosia Mamet, Angus Imrie, Chris O'Dowd, and Mark Rylance.

The project is now being shopped around to other studios. Early screenings generated what Variety characterized as "positive" reactions, suggesting the film may find a home at another distributor.