Sam Altman Movie 'Artificial' Dropped by Amazon After OpenAI Partnership
Amazon has dropped Luca Guadagnino's film "Artificial," which was set to star Sam Altman, following the director's partnership with OpenAI. The project, which explored themes of artificial intelligence, was in early development at Amazon MGM Studios before being shelved.
Background
- **Luca Guadagnino** is a celebrated Italian film director known for *Call Me by Your Name*, *Suspiria*, *Challengers*, and *Queer*. He is currently attached to direct *Artificial*.
- **Sam Altman** is the CEO of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. He is a central figure in the tech industry's AI boom.
- **Amazon MGM Studios** was set to produce *Artificial* — a film about a creator and his AI creation, echoing the Frankenstein story. Amazon has now dropped it.
- The key context: Amazon is a major investor in (and cloud provider for) the AI startup **Anthropic**, a direct competitor to OpenAI. Producing a film that could be seen as positive or flattering toward Sam Altman and OpenAI would create a clear conflict of interest for Amazon, given its financial stake in Anthropic. The project's collapse is thus less about creative quality and more about the messy entanglement of Silicon Valley corporate rivalries with Hollywood dealmaking.
- The script was written by *Call Me by Your Name* screenwriter James Ivory.