When a Studio Steps Back: The Case of 'Artificial' and Amazon

Amazon has decided not to release the film Artificial, a dramatized retelling of the 2023 boardroom turmoil at OpenAI. Luca Guadagnino directed the movie and Andrew Garfield stars as Sam Altman. The cast also includes Monica Barbaro, Yura Borisov, Ike Barinholtz and Mark Rylance. The film wrapped shooting last autumn and was being positioned for an awards run in early 2027.

The studio will now look for another distributor and is working with the filmmakers to find a new home. The move followed a recent, large strategic partnership between Amazon and OpenAI, in which Amazon committed up to $50 billion to the company. Although Amazon has strong ties to the project’s director, the company said the film would be better served by a different studio. While the film’s creative team prepares screenings for potential buyers, the wider industry is watching how studio decisions change when business partnerships are involved.