Luca Guadagnino says he can’t fully explain why Amazon MGM Studios dropped his nearly finished film Artificial, but he insists the story centers on what he calls a tech oligarchy’s radical control over “the very identity” of places like the United States. He a
Luca Guadagnino didn’t have a lot of room to maneuver when he spoke about Artificial being dropped by Amazon MGM Studios.
The 54-year-old filmmaker said the movie was nearly finished when it was recently released by the studio, and that he’s still “right in the middle of this situation” while asked why the film’s premise—artificial intelligence in today’s America—is considered dangerous.
Speaking during an interview on the Italian news show Otto e Mezzo on Friday (June 26). Guadagnino kept his focus on what the film is really about. He argued that the core of Artificial isn’t just the technology itself. but the “truly radical control” he believes certain groups have over “the very identity of places like the United States and the entire world.”.
Artificial has been described as a “comedic drama set in the world of artificial intelligence. ” with Andrew Garfield starring as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Guadagnino framed the story as one about how quickly people are changing the face of the world around them—not only in how society consumes and interacts with these tools. but in how entire places are defined.
“What matters most to me is how people are completely changing the face of things — not just society in terms of consumption and how we interact with these tools. but the very identity of places like the United States and the entire world. ” Guadagnino shared. He added: “And that is indeed what is happening. Indeed, this small oligarchy — which nonetheless exercises truly radical control — [is central to the story].”.
He pointed to the film’s production context to explain why the theme hit home for him. Guadagnino said the movie was shot partly in San Francisco. calling it a “wonderful city” known to many as the home of Alfred Hitchcock’s films. He described it as a place of striking contrast: beauty alongside deep despair. with “so many homeless people — so many living under the influence of fentanyl. ” and self-driving cars moving through it as if nothing is wrong.
“The city presented extraordinary contrasts: a place of great beauty but also of deep despair. with so many homeless people — so many living under the influence of fentanyl — while these wonderful. silent. self-driving cars glided right past them. To me, that right there is the perfect image to describe the theme; it is the perfect image,” he said.
Guadagnino said he hopes Artificial can land with a new studio and be seen by audiences. He likened his experience to 2003. when CBS canceled The Reagans. a major drama about the Reagan family due to pressure from Republicans. He said it was “actually canceled. only to air later on a smaller channel. ” and framed the situation as similarly tied to “industrial-political issues.”.
“The film was shot partly in San Francisco — a wonderful city. one of the great. distinguished cities of the United States. known to everyone as the city of Alfred Hitchcock’s films. ” he said earlier in the same conversation. Later, he expanded on the wider issue. “These are industrial-political issues — and not for the first time,” Guadagnino said.
He also clarified what he does—and doesn’t—mean when he talks about AI. For him. the issue isn’t artificial intelligence itself as a tool for generating “knowledge products” or expressive content such as research. videos. or images. “From one perspective. it’s just a technological gadget — and not a particularly sophisticated one. at that; it’s full of flaws. though it will likely improve over time. ” he said.
Guadagnino added that the scientists working on artificial general intelligence believe it could one day become independently sentient, even if it currently amounts to little more than “computing data scraped from everywhere,” consuming “vast amounts of energy and water.”
At the heart of Guadagnino’s comments is a plea to see Artificial move forward—one that reads less like a debate about a single headline and more like a fight over who gets to control the stories that shape how the world is understood.
Luca Guadagnino Artificial Amazon MGM Studios Andrew Garfield Sam Altman Otto e Mezzo San Francisco Alfred Hitchcock The Reagans CBS artificial intelligence
Amazon really said nah huh.
I don’t get it—if the movie was “nearly finished” then why would they drop it? Sounds like the AI thing is just a cover for them being mad about something else. Also “tech oligarchy” is kind of a wild phrase lol.
So wait, he’s blaming Amazon MGM for a “tech oligarchy” controlling America’s identity… but the whole plot is literally AI with an OpenAI CEO vibe? Like, isn’t that the same tech people are talking about anyway? Maybe the studio got cold feet because it hits too close to real life or something.
This whole thing is messy. Andrew Garfield playing Sam Altman? That’s already basically politics whether they mean it or not. If they dropped Artificial after it was out, that means there’s some big behind-the-scenes stuff, not just “we can’t explain why.” But also I’m side-eyeing the “oligarchy controls identity” thing like… identity of places like the US is controlled by Amazon?? Seems like a stretch but what do I know.