Surprising news coming out of Amazon/MGM: the studio has dropped Luca Guadagnino’s “Artificial,” which is now looking for a new home.
It was only a few weeks ago that Amazon decided to delay the film from its presumed 2026 release to an undisclosed early 2027 slot. That decision already struck many as unusual, given that the film was widely expected to target a 2026 festival run. The studio has now dropped it altogether, which begs the question: why?
Amazon ls no longer planning to distribute or release the film itself. Instead, the producers must now find another buyer or distributor. The bigger question is whether Amazon/MGM simply lost confidence in the film’s commercial and awards prospects, or whether the subject matter created…concerns.
The film, described as “The Social Network” for the AI era, tackles Sam Altman’s rise, his ties to OpenAI, and the other personalities behind what may end up being the most important technological shift of our time. The film is reported to portray Altman in a less-than-positive light.
“Artificial” follows Ilya Sutskever (played by Yura Borisov), the idealistic, slightly naïve brain behind the OpenAI operation, and, of course, Altman, played by Andrew Garfield, who connives his way to the top. The rest of the cast includes Monica Barbaro, Cooper Hoffman, Jason Schwartzman, Mark Rylance, and Ike Barinholtz as Elon Musk.
“Artificial” found its way to Guadagnino after production on “Sgt. Rock” — the DC Studios film starring Colin Farrell — was scrapped. Rather than wait it out, the director quickly shot the film last summer. By all accounts, it is practically finished with post-production and ready for release.
Guadagnino is coming off “After the Hunt,” also produced by Amazon/MGM, which was released last fall, and met with derisive reviews from critics. His previous credits include “I Am Love,” “Call Me By Your Name,” “Challengers,” “Queer,” “Bones and All,” and “Suspiria.”.
UPDATE: Here’s Puck’s Matt Belloni with more details. He has a source familiar with Amazon’s thinking saying the tone of “Artificial” reportedly became significantly darker in its final version than the version originally scripted by Simon Rich, or how it was initially pitched and developed by Guadagnino.
After viewing a completed cut, Mike Hopkins, head of Prime Video and Amazon/MGM, ultimately decided to pull the film from its planned release.
In a statement, Amazon emphasized its continued respect for Guadagnino while explaining the decision: the company said it believes “Artificial” “will be better served” at a different studio and is working with the filmmakers to find it a new home.
I’m seeing plenty of “worst of the year” mentions for “Ice Cream Man,” which doesn’t surprise me one bit. Roth has never been a critical darling and has only been more burdened by that with each passing film.