Neon Bets on Garfield as Sam Altman in 'Artificial' — SkimNews
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- Neon acquired Luca Guadagnino's 'Artificial' for awards season after Amazon MGM reportedly dropped the $40 million OpenAI workplace drama, with the article noting the studio's 'no guts, no glory' wager
- Andrew Garfield stars as Sam Altman alongside Ike Barinholtz as Elon Musk and Yura Borisov; the article notes his 'Social Network' supporting turn earned Golden Globe, Critics Choice, SAG and BAFTA nominations but no Oscar nod, framing this role as a full-circle awards moment nearly two decades later
- Simon Rich wrote the screenplay—only his second feature—and has personal ties to the subject via the documentary short 'Josh's Wedding,' about friends distancing from an early OpenAI hire
- Damon Albarn composed the score and contributed three original songs, replacing usual Guadagnino collaborators Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
- Malik Hassan Sayeed returned to narrative filmmaking on 'Artificial' after last year's 'After the Hunt,' with the article praising the cinematography's capture of San Francisco
- David Heyman, a four-time Oscar nominee just tapped to produce the James Bond franchise, and 'Michael Clayton' nominee Jennifer Fox serve as producers
Why it matters: Neon has acquired a $40 million mid-budget drama after Amazon MGM's reported exit, betting that Andrew Garfield's turn as Sam Altman finally earns the Oscar that eluded him with 'The Social Network.' That 2010 role earned four major precursor nominations but no Academy Award—a gap the studio is counting on Garfield's 'corporate menace' performance to close.
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