Amazon MGM has dropped a completed film about OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, raising questions about whether a $50 billion business investment influenced a creative decision at a major Hollywood studio.
The film, titled Artificial, was directed by Luca Guadagnino and stars Andrew Garfield as Altman. According to a report by The Wrap, Amazon has not publicly stated a reason for the decision. The studio said it is working to find the film 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."
A representative for OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment.
Artificial covers the period when Altman was abruptly fired from OpenAI, then rehired five days later after a staff revolt. Amazon made a $50 billion investment in OpenAI roughly four months before dropping the film. OpenAI also has a planned initial public offering that could come as early as this year. Many observers have drawn a direct line between those business ties and the decision to abandon the project.
The Wrap noted that if the business relationship did drive the decision, it would mark the first time a studio has walked away from a nearly complete film for such reasons. It would also come at a delicate moment for Amazon MGM, which has been working to establish a film identity and recently had an early success with Project Hail Mary.
Industry representatives expressed concern about what the move signals to filmmakers. "If it's made very clear out there that they can't point to any other reason beyond we are not best suited given the subject matter, it definitely will make folks think twice (about bringing packages to Amazon MGM)," a top manager told The Wrap.
The decision fits a broader pattern of big tech companies exerting influence over media outlets connected to them. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos directed The Washington Post, which he owns, not to endorse a presidential candidate. Apple canceled The Problem With Jon Stewart before its third season over concerns about topics including China and artificial intelligence. But The Wrap noted that abandoning a nearly finished film over a business partnership represents a new level of intervention.
The film is now in search of a new studio home.
