Andrew Garfield Portrays Sam Altman in 'Artificial' Trailer

Neon has released the first trailer for Luca Guadagnino's upcoming film 'Artificial,' which stars Andrew Garfield as OpenAI founder Sam Altman. The film chronicles the tumultuous events of November 2023, when Altman was abruptly fired from his position as CEO of OpenAI and then reinstated just five days later. This period of intense internal conflict at the artificial intelligence research company became a major news event, highlighting the high stakes and rapid developments within the AI industry.

Andrew Garfield leads an ensemble cast portraying key figures involved in the OpenAI leadership crisis. Ike Barinholtz is cast as co-founder Elon Musk, Monica Barbaro plays former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, and Yura Borisov takes on the role of former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever. Mark Rylance is set to portray Nobel Prize winner Geoffrey Hinton, a prominent figure in the field of AI who expressed concerns about the rapid advancement of AI. The supporting cast also includes Jason Schwartzman, Zosia Mamet, Cooper Hoffman, Chris O'Dowd, Cooper Koch, and Billie Lourd, adding further star power to the production.

Luca Guadagnino directed 'Artificial' from a screenplay penned by SNL alum Simon Rich. The film is produced by Guadagnino and Rich, alongside David Heyman, Jeffrey Clifford, and Jennifer Fox. Jonathan Anderson is credited as the costume designer. The production faced its own challenges in securing distribution. Amazon MGM Studios was initially slated to distribute 'Artificial' globally. However, the company withdrew from the project earlier this year, citing that the film would "be better served if it were released by a different studio." This decision followed Amazon's significant partnership with OpenAI, which included a reported $50 billion USD investment in the company, raising questions about potential conflicts of interest.

Following Amazon MGM's exit, other major distributors like Netflix, A24, and Focus Features reportedly passed on the film. Ultimately, Neon stepped in to acquire the distribution rights in June 2026. 'Artificial' is scheduled to premiere in theaters on Christmas Day, December 25, 2026. The film's narrative is expected to delve into the pressures of the AI arms race and the internal dynamics that led to the dramatic leadership change at OpenAI, offering a cinematic portrayal of a pivotal moment in the history of artificial intelligence.