Luca Guadagnino Says He Can’t Discuss Amazon Dropping ‘Artificial’ Because ‘We Are Right in the Middle of This Situation,’ But AI Is ‘Changing the Identity of the World’
SkimNews Take
A distributor quietly shelving a biographical film about a living tech figure, with the director barred from explaining why, signals that AI-adjacent projects are now treated as reputational liabilities well before release.
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- Luca Guadagnino declined to discuss Amazon MGM's decision to drop 'Artificial,' telling Italy's La7 he 'can't say much because we are right in the middle of this situation'
- Amazon struck a significant partnership with OpenAI before exiting the film, committing $50 billion to expand OpenAI's use of Amazon Web Services and develop custom AI models
- Mubi is among distributors still circling the film, while Netflix, A24, and Focus have also passed on picking it up after Amazon's exit
- Guadagnino compared the situation to CBS cancelling a Reagan drama in 2003 due to Republican pressure, calling this 'type of commercial and political pressure' familiar territory
- Guadagnino dismissed current AI as a 'technological gadget — and not a particularly sophisticated one' while arguing it is nonetheless changing 'the very face of the identity' of the United States and the world
- Guadagnino described filming in San Francisco, where 'self-driving cars glided past' homeless people and fentanyl users, as 'the perfect image' — 'more than just disturbing'
- The film stars Andrew Garfield as Sam Altman and Ike Barinholtz as Elon Musk, with a reported $40 million budget
Why it matters: The $50 billion Amazon-OpenAI deal — struck before Amazon exited the film — provides the most concrete commercial context yet for why the $40 million Altman project became untenable. With Netflix, A24, and Focus also passing, distribution prospects narrow despite the Garfield-led cast and Mubi still in talks.
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