Neon circling – Neon is reportedly negotiating for U.S. rights to Luca Guadagnino’s nearly completed film “Artificial,” which stars Andrew Garfield as Sam Altman. The movie was dropped by Amazon MGM after Amazon sealed a major $50 billion deal with Altman’s OpenAI for cloud s
Neon is circling a deal for “Artificial,” the nearly completed new film from director Luca Guadagnino about Sam Altman that has suddenly turned into a high-stakes bidding moment after Amazon MGM dropped it.
The news first surfaced when Puck co-founder and reporter Matt Belloni reported that Neon is reportedly in talks to acquire the U.S. rights to the film. By the time screeners went out, major names had already been asked to step in—and several said no.
Amazon MGM previously had “Artificial” lined up for a planned early 2027 release. The project starred Andrew Garfield as Altman and had been set at Amazon MGM Studios. but last week the studio removed the film from its slate after Amazon made a major deal with Altman’s OpenAI. That deal is described as a $50 billion agreement that would let OpenAI use Amazon Web Services cloud functionality.
After the shake-up, the film’s representatives at CAA Media Finance held screenings with major buyers, including Netflix, A24, Focus Features, and Warner Bros.’ Clockwork label. All of them passed.
The screenplay is by “SNL” writer Simon Rich. and the story follows a fictionalized version of the turbulence at OpenAI in 2023—when Altman was fired and removed by the board of directors in a move orchestrated by OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever (“Anora” star Yura Borisov). Altman later returned as CEO.
Alongside Garfield. the cast includes Monica Barbaro as OpenAI’s CTO Mira Murati. Mark Rylance as AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton. and Ike Barinholtz as Elon Musk. The project has also drawn comparisons to “The Social Network. ” the film about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. itself not exactly flattering in its portrayal.
On “The Town” podcast, Belloni and Puck described “Artificial” as especially unflattering to Altman and to Musk, with the conversation centered on how AI could warp culture—or go further.
Belloni reported that Amazon seemed to believe the film turned out darker than expected. He also spoke with a buyer who had seen the movie and summed up the experience in stark terms: “It’s grim. it’s dark. it goes there. and it makes you feel bad after watching it about the future of the human race.”.
Amazon MGM. for its part. said in a statement to the press: “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.”.
That explanation lands in a context where Amazon MGM has already released two prior Guadagnino films. including “Challengers. ” which made $96 million globally at the box office and is Guadagnino’s biggest hit. The studio also released “After the Hunt,” which starred Garfield as well and made just $9.4 million without generating awards buzz.
Even as Neon looks for a path forward. the question now is simple: with major buyers already passing and Amazon stepping away. whether “Artificial” finds a studio willing to market a story that viewers are describing as relentlessly bleak—and whether that mood proves a dealbreaker or a selling point.
Luca Guadagnino Artificial Neon Sam Altman Andrew Garfield Amazon MGM OpenAI Matt Belloni Simon Rich Monica Barbaro Mark Rylance Ike Barinholtz Ilya Sutskever Mira Murati Geoffrey Hinton Elon Musk CAA Media Finance Netflix A24 Focus Features Warner Bros. Clockwork U.S. rights