Amazon Walks Away from Nearly Complete Sam Altman Movie Just Months After OpenAI Deal

Amazon is walking away from Artificial, a nearly complete movie about Sam Altman, just months after striking a deal with ChatGPT company OpenAI.

The company chose to drop its involvement in the biopic following multiple private test screenings and confirmed the news in a statement sent to Puck. Directed by Challengers and Call Me by Your Name filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, the film stars Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man) as the controversial OpenAI CEO, Ike Barinholtz (The Studio) as Elon Musk, Monica Barbaro (Top Gun: Maverick) as Mira Murati, and more.

The decision, made by Prime Video head Mike Hopkins, follows a deal made between Amazon and OpenAI in February of this year that saw the former commit to an investment of $50 billion. Now, the Jeff Bezos tech company says it's working with the Artificial team to find it a new distributor.

"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," an Amazon spokesperson said. "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."

Details

Artificial takes place during the window where Altman was fired and rehired at OpenAI in 2023. Variety's sources say reactions to the movie were positive following test screenings, with additional screenings for studios held Thursday.

One insider who has seen the film suggested its portrayal of Altman and Musk is particularly critical, saying that they are the characters watchers will "like the least." Puck also reported that Hopkins watched one early version of the movie – which apparently carried a darker tone than what was conveyed by the script written by SNL alum Simon Rich – before he decided to see it shopped elsewhere.

Artificial was expected to release sometime this year but it's now without a release date. Its cast also includes Jason Schwartzman (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), Yura Borisov (Anora), Cooper Hoffman (The Long Walk), and Billie Lourd (Star Wars: Episode 7 – The Force Awakens).

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).