Neon Picks Up $45 Million 'Artificial' After Amazon Dropped OpenAI Film
Updated
Updated · Vulture · Oct 2
Neon Picks Up $45 Million 'Artificial' After Amazon Dropped OpenAI Film
3 articles · Updated · Vulture · Oct 2
Summary
Neon has acquired Luca Guadagnino’s $45 million film “Artificial” and set its premiere for the New York Film Festival on Oct. 5.
Amazon MGM dropped the movie in June, shortly after Amazon announced a $50 billion investment in OpenAI, with producers saying the studio was too compromised to back a film about Sam Altman and the company.
The project was assembled at unusual speed: Simon Rich pitched it in January 2024, Guadagnino joined in 2025, and production wrapped by September 2025.
Andrew Garfield plays Altman in a story centered on Altman’s rise, Ilya Sutskever’s boardroom coup, and the CEO’s return a week later.
The pickup lands as AI safety fears intensify and Hollywood fills with tech-power stories, giving the once-dropped film extra taboo appeal ahead of release.