Neon Acquires Guadagnino's OpenAI Satire for Christmas — SkimNews
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- Luca Guadagnino's 'Artificial' premiered at the New York Film Festival on Monday, October 5, with Andrew Garfield starring as OpenAI founder Sam Altman in a story covering Altman's 2023 ouster and five-day return to the company.
- Simon Rich wrote the screenplay; producers include David Heyman, Jeffrey Clifford, Jennifer Fox, Rich, and Guadagnino, with the film originally greenlit by Amazon MGM after that studio financed Guadagnino's 'Challenges' and 'After the Hunt.'
- Amazon MGM dropped the completed film earlier this year, shortly after striking a $50 billion deal with OpenAI to provide web services via its AWS division, with Neon subsequently acquiring the rights.
- Neon is planning a Christmas Day (December 25) theatrical release paired with an Oscar campaign for the film.
- Early NYFF reactions described 'Artificial' as both 'savage' and 'terrifying,' with critics singling out its biting satirical voice about an AI-dominated future — IndieWire's review headline frames the film as showing 'just how stupid the road to smarter AI has already been.'
Why it matters: Amazon MGM dropped a completed OpenAI satire shortly after announcing its $50 billion AWS deal with the company the film depicts, and Neon stepped in for a December 25 Oscar push. The release hands Altman and OpenAI an unsolicited awards-season spotlight while turning Amazon's commercial calculus into its own subplot.
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