Overview
- Neon has secured domestic distribution for Artificial after Amazon’s MGM studio stepped away from the project, the companies announced in late June and early July.
- Reports say Amazon had already invested about $40 million in the film before withdrawing, a move trade outlets link to Amazon’s new commercial partnership with OpenAI and concerns over the film’s portrayal of tech figures.
- The film, directed by Luca Guadagnino and starring Andrew Garfield as Sam Altman, is largely finished and dramatizes the 2023 weekend when Altman was fired and then reinstated at OpenAI.
- Several specialty buyers showed interest after Amazon released the film, with Mubi, Netflix, A24 and Focus Features reported among parties considered before Neon won the rights.
- Neon plans festival placements and an awards push that will likely shift the premiere strategy away from SXSW toward larger festivals such as Venice, underscoring how distributor choices affect which high-profile tech stories reach audiences.