Neon acquires Sam Altman biopic 'Artificial' after Amazon MGM drops it over OpenAI ties

Acquisition

Neon, the independent studio behind best picture winners like "Parasite" and "Anora," has acquired the distribution rights to "Artificial," a film about OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The deal comes after Amazon MGM unexpectedly dropped the project earlier this month.

“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.”

Neon plans to release the film later this year.

Cast and crew

Directed by Luca Guadagnino ("Call Me by Your Name," "Challengers"), the film features a screenplay by humorist Simon Rich. Andrew Garfield stars as Sam Altman, while Ike Barinholtz portrays Elon Musk. The cast also includes Monica Barbaro as Mira Murati, Yura Borisov as Ilya Sutskever, and Mark Rylance, Billie Lourd, Jason Schwartzman, Cooper Koch, and Cooper Hoffman. Production costs were reported at $40 million.

Plot

"Artificial" focuses on the tumultuous four days in 2023 when Altman was fired and then rehired as CEO of OpenAI. An anonymous source told Variety the film's depiction of Altman is unsympathetic.

“The film's portrait of Altman is unsympathetic, as is the film's portrayal of Altman's arch nemesis, Elon Musk.”

Amazon's exit

Amazon MGM's decision to drop the film drew attention to the company's $50 billion investment in OpenAI announced in February 2026. Amazon stated at the time that Amazon Web Services would provide exclusive cloud resources to the AI firm. The studio had originally greenlit the movie in 2023 and held test screenings earlier this year, planning a release at SXSW.

Industry interest

Other studios showed interest. Mubi, backed by Sequoia Capital (a major OpenAI investor), submitted a bid. A24, Netflix, and Focus Features declined, according to Variety. The acquisition positions Neon, known for championing ambitious cinema, with another high-profile release.