Neon Acquires Artificial: The OpenAI Movie Amazon Walked Away From

Neon’s brevity is undeniable, as it has built a reputation for bringing unconventional films that larger studios often hesitate to back to the forefront. With Artificial, the curiosity surrounding the film might translate into critical acclaim and box office attention, which could prove good leverage for the film distributor as well. 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, after being dropped by Amazon MGM Studios, Neon acquires Artificial by the award-winning Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino (Desire trilogy, Challengers, Call Me By Your Name). The deal was dropped in mid-June after announcing a $50 billion investment in OpenAI.

Amazon’s spokesperson said, 

“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. We believe that Artificial will be better served if it were released by a different studio.” [Source]  

The film was further passed on by Warner Bros., Netflix, and Focus Features. A24 is known for taking such risky bets, but it was not considered the main studio for distribution. Mubi and Neon were left as the lead distributors for the film.

There were several reasons for showing reluctance to pick up the film, the highlighted one being political concerns. Those who have watched the film during its early screenings have noted that its cutthroat power dynamics make it a complicated subject matter, for which the distributors’ hesitance is evident. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bloomberg Business (@bloombergbusiness)

Plot details of Artificial

The Social Network-type film follows the story of the real-life owner of ChatGPT, Sam Altman (played by Andrew Garfield), who went through a stormy period in 2023. He was fired and rehired in a matter of days.

Other cast members include Monica Barbaro and Yura Borisov. Simon Rick wrote the screenplay. Producers include Heyday Films’ David Heyman and Jeffrey Clifford alongside Jennifer Fox.  

Is Neon secretly turning controversy into Oscar gold? 

The film has already borne so much controversy that it is naturally making a buzz for the awards season. Is Neon making this its clever marketing strategy to bring this film to the awards as a contender? Neon does this especially when it is packed with either the strong contender Fjord (2026) or Paper Tiger (2026), but does not ignore Artificial for that purpose. 

Neon has a strong track record for bagging the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, which later went on to win Best Picture at the Oscars. With Artificial now in its yearly release slate, Neon continues its legacy of supporting visionary filmmakers and bringing ambitious cinema to global audiences that will vigorously shape the upcoming Oscar race. 

Neon has decided that the film will not have an official fall festival premiere. Rather, it could hit the big screens directly, for which the November slate could be a good idea. It would give Artificial ample time to enter the awards conversation if Neon still wants it to be in the race. The fact that Amazon sold Artificial to Neon for nothing, deeming that Neon would cover marketing and distribution worth $20 million, also strengthens its expectations for setting its sights on the Oscars.

Though Artificial has an apt timing to be included in the Oscars race, the question arises whether the Academy voters would back a movie that is based on a technology threatening the very existence of the entire film industry. On several occasions, the rise of AI has been embraced by industry professionals, such as Ben Affleck’s AI-film-editing company InterPositive, sold to Netflix, and other filmmakers who came forward in support of AI, like Demi Moore, while being a Cannes jury member, Steven Soderbergh, Martin Scorsese, etc.  

The Academy is far from united on artificial intelligence. The divide could make Artificial a polarizing contender and could generate mega debates in the industry once the film is released. It could definitely be a defining moment of how others see AI and present their one-sided perspective that actually co-exists with human creativity. 

Neon acquires Artificial: Guadagnino’s thoughts on the situation

The director wasn’t surprised that Amazon MGM dropped his nearly finished film. He said that there are industry policies that exist before any project is launched, as every party has its own stakes. He solidified his stance with an example of the miniseries, The Reagans, based on President Ronald Reagan and his family, in 2003. The series was cancelled by CBS and later aired on its sister network Showtime. Josh Brolin and Judy Davis starred in the series. 

It also highlights the fact that billionaires have their own influence over the creative decisions of such complicated stories that should go public, even with the repercussions on their own reputations involved. Instances like these strengthen the evidence of corporate-controlled media and the possible backlash that a certain project would come up with.