Hot off the press: Luca Guadagnino’s “Artificial” has been acquired by Neon and, I’m told, will receive an Oscar-qualifying run later this year, with a world premiere being discussed at the Venice Film Festival.
Matt Belloni confirmed the news.
The only other bidder who came close to Neon’s $20M+ offer was Mubi, who I’m told lowered their price after seeing other studios passing on the film. They must still be scarred by the $25M they shelled out for Lynne Ramsay’s “Die My Love” last year.
As for Neon, this will be the most money they have ever spent to acquire a film. Last year, they acquired Sundance hit “Together” for $15M, that was the same price they bought Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” before its Venice for in 2023.
“Artificial,” described as “The Social Network” for the AI era, reportedly explores Sam Altman’s rise, his ties to OpenAI, and the figures behind what may become one of the most significant technological shifts of our time. The film is said to portray Altman in a less-than-flattering light.
The central figure is reportedly Ilya Sutskever (played by Yura Borisov), the idealistic, somewhat naïve technical mind behind OpenAI, while Altman—played by Andrew Garfield—enters more prominently around the midpoint, depicted as maneuvering his way to the top. The ensemble cast is said to include Monica Barbaro, Cooper Hoffman, Jason Schwartzman, Mark Rylance, and Ike Barinholtz as Elon Musk.
Luca Guadagnino, who is coming off “After the Hunt” (also produced by Amazon MGM), released last fall to largely negative reviews from critics, has previously directed “I Am Love,” “Call Me by Your Name,” “Challengers,” “Queer,” “Bones and All,” and “Suspiria.”
An official announcement of Neon’s acquisition of “Artificial” is expected within the next 24–48 hours, and could also include a potential release date.
This is an odd follow-up for Andrew Patterson, whose acclaimed 2019 debut, “The Vast of Night,” shot for only $500k, showed a filmmaker with a real knack for atmosphere and visual storytelling.