Sources tell Page Six Hollywood that Neon only agreed to a deal for the Luca Guadagnino–directed drama with a “no money guarantee.”
That’s right—Amazon/MGM basically gave away “Artificial” for free to Neon and told the indie studio: do what you want with it, we wash our hands, and exit—this thing is your responsibility now.
Essentially, this means Neon did not pay the upfront licensing fee that distributors usually dish out to acquire a film. Neon will be in charge of paying for marketing and distribution (P&A), which can itself cost tens of millions of dollars, in this instance around $20M.
This means that, despite the weak financial terms, the filmmakers are relieved to have secured a distributor at all.
Was the “price” always a “no money guarantee”? Did the likes of Netflix, A24, Focus, and Warner Bros. all pass on this film despite it coming at basically no upfront price? That seems to be the case. Perhaps it should come as no surprise that Mubi was the only other interested party for “Artificial.”
Guadagnino, who is coming off “After the Hunt” (also produced by Amazon MGM), released last fall to largely negative reviews. His previous credits include “I Am Love,” “Call Me by Your Name,” “Challengers,” “Queer,” “Bones and All,” and “Suspiria.”
Neon confirmed they will be giving “Artificial” a robust awards-season campaign this fall. A world premiere at the Venice Film Festival seems like an inevitability.
This is a significant update for a project that has been stuck in development for years, and comes roughly a year after Brolin said “Sicario 3” was a maybe.