John Nacion\/Variety via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Amazon has officially dropped Luca Guadagnino\u2019s newest film Artificial, a drama about OpenAI creator Sam Altman, months after investing $50 billion in Altman\u2019s artificial intelligence company, per a report in Variety<\/a> over the weekend.<\/p>\n Following Amazon MGM\u2019s unceremonious cancellation of the film, which was slated to premiere in 2027, Guadagnino has begun shopping the film around to several other major studios. Focus Features, Warner Bros., A24 and Netflix have all passed on the project already, according to Variety. However, both Mubi \u2014\u00a0which has released critical darlings such as The Substance and Die My Love \u2014\u00a0and Neon are still considering picking up the film, the outlet reports.<\/p>\n Artificial stars Andrew Garfield as Altman and reportedly depicts him as a pathological liar. The film also features Elon Musk, played by Emmy nominee Ike Barinholtz, in a \u201chighly antipathetic\u201d depiction, according to Variety.<\/p>\n In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Amazon did not mention its relationship with Altman or OpenAI as a reason for the sudden move.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have the utmost respect and admiration for Luca Guadagnino as an award-winning filmmaker \u2014 not to mention a longstanding relationship that we hope to continue,\u201d a spokesperson for Amazon told The Hollywood Reporter<\/a>. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n The film\u2019s inability to find a distributor shows just how deeply enmeshed Hollywood and tech companies have become: Thrive Capital\u2019s Josh Kushner, who backs A24, also holds a seat on OpenAI\u2019s board, per Variety.<\/p>\n Mubi has a history of saving dropped films. It rescued Oscar-nominated film The Substance after Universal reportedly dropped it over director Coralie Fargeat\u2019s refusal to change the ending<\/a>. Mubi has also previously released Guadagnino\u2019s Oscar-nominated film Queer.<\/p>\n Artificial is written by Saturday Night Live alum Simon Rich, who previously wrote the film An American Pickle. The film also has an all-star cast; starring alongside Garfield and Barinholtz are Anora actor Yura Borisov, Monica Barbaro, Cooper Hoffman, Cooper Koch, Billie Lourd, Zosia Mamet, Chris O\u2019Dowd and Mark Rylance.<\/p>\n Guadagnino has been on a high-volume of output since his films Challengers and Queer both opened in 2024, followed by After the Hunt, which received a more tepid reception<\/a>, in 2025.<\/p>\n Get the best of what\u2019s queer.\u00a0Sign up for\u00a0Them\u2019s weekly newsletter here.<\/a><\/p>\n