Like many people, I had no idea that Luca Guadagnino, of 'Call me By Your Name' and 'Challengers' directorial fame, had almost finished working on a new film about OpenAI and Sam Altman. But now, like many, I do – because Amazon has just canned it.
Artificial was due for release next year, but Amazon, who was distributing the film, has dropped it, leaving it without a studio. Focussing on the drama surrounding Altman's firing and re-hiring in 2023, Artificial stars Andrew Garfield as the controversial OpenAI CEO.
Andrew Garfield as Sam Altman on the set of Luca Guadagnino’s ‘ARTIFICIAL’. 📷 pic.twitter.com/daR1jBrdKWAugust 1, 2025
“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,” a spokesperson for Amazon said, as reported by Variety. “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.”
But as soon as the announcement was made, the conspiracy theories began. And it's hard to ignore the timing. Earlier this year, Amazon and OpenAI announced a new 'strategic partnership', designed to "bring OpenAI’s most advanced enterprise platform to AWS customers." As part of the partnership, Amazon is investing $50 billion in OpenAI.
Let me explain exactly why Amazon would rather hand a finished, well-tested film to a rival studio than release it themselves.Artificial is done. Guadagnino directed it, Garfield plays Altman, and the L.A. screenings got a warm reception. This is the same director whose last… https://t.co/P9fdePIujgJune 21, 2026
According to Page Six, insiders who've seen the script describe that it paints "a not-so-sympathetic portrait of Altman."
Whether or not Amazon has ditched the film in order to keep Altman and OpenAI sweet is unclear. But it's certainly the loudest theory on social media right now. And, combined with similar theories about Amazon's Melania documentary existing solely as a $35M gift from Amazon to Trump, and it's looking increasingly like Amazon's movie distributing decisions have more to do with currying favour than artistic merit.
