Amazon no longer releasing Sam Altman biopic “Artificial” starring Andrew Garfield
Amazon no longer releasing Sam Altman biopic “Artificial” starring Andrew Garfield
Wesley StenzelFri, June 19, 2026 at 11:51 PM UTC
5
Andrew Garfield; Sam AltmanCredit: Mike Marsland/WireImage; Dia Dipasupil/FilmMagicKey points -
Amazon will no longer release Luca Guadagnino's Sam Altman biopic Artificial, which is currently in post-production.
A spokesperson for Amazon says that the studio is "working closely with the filmmaking team to find the film a new home."
OpenAI announced a strategic partnership with Amazon in February.
Amazon is pulling out of a buzzy biopic about a major tech titan.
The studio is withdrawing its involvement from Artificial, a biographical drama from Call Me By Your Name filmmaker Luca Guadagnino about OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Andrew Garfield, who previously worked with Guadagnino on 2025's After the Hunt, is portraying the central businessman in the film, which is currently in post-production.
A spokesperson for Amazon confirmed the news to Entertainment Weekly. "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 tells EW in a statement, noting that Amazon will attempt to help Guadagnino find another studio that can release the project. "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."
Luca Guadagnino in 2025Credit: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty
Representatives for Guadagnino did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.
Artificial was first announced in a Deadline report in June 2025. Guadagnino confirmed that the film had wrapped production in an interview with GQ in February. Later that month, OpenAI announced a strategic partnership with Amazon. The announcement stated that Amazon would invest $50 billion in the AI company.
Though Artificial was originally expected to receive a fall 2026 release date to position it for an awards campaign, Page Six reported in May that the film was being delayed to 2027 to avoid competition with Sony's The Social Reckoning, another fact-based drama about a controversial tech billionaire, which is hitting theaters on Oct. 9. (The Social Reckoning is a companion piece to 2010's The Social Network, which also starred Garfield.)
Advertisement
Artificial's supporting cast includes Monica Barbaro, Yura Borisov, Cooper Koch, Cooper Hoffman, Jason Schwartzman, Billie Lourd, Zosia Mamet, and Chris O'Dowd. Additionally, Blockers star Ike Barinholtz is playing Elon Musk in the film.
Sam Altman in Los Angeles on April 18, 2026
Barinholtz indicated that he had no desire to meet Musk before portraying him. "He's famous enough that you get it," the Studio star told Variety, noting that he prepared to portray the Tesla CEO by "poisoning my brain by watching lots of interviews with him."
The actor also said that Guadagnino is "a real genius" who "brings stuff out of people," which means that "any trepidation I had going into it was instantly assuaged by that genius."
Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.
Variety reported that Artificial recently received positive feedback during test screenings, and claimed that Altman and Musk are portrayed less sympathetically than other figures in the film.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
