{"slug": "amazon-drops-sam-altman-movie-after-announcing-openai-partnership", "title": "Amazon drops Sam Altman movie after announcing OpenAI partnership", "summary": "Amazon MGM dropped Luca Guadagnino's nearly completed Sam Altman biopic 'Artificial' months after Amazon expanded its partnership with OpenAI, including a $50 billion investment. The film, starring Andrew Garfield as the OpenAI founder, will be shopped to other studios.", "body_md": "# Amazon drops Sam Altman movie after announcing OpenAI partnership\n\nLuca Guadagnino’s nearly completed biopic stars Andrew Garfield as the controversial OpenAI founder\n\n- Bookmark\n- CommentsGo to comments\n\nAmazon MGM is no longer partnering with [Italian auteur Luca Guadagnino ](/arts-entertainment/films/features/luca-guadagnino-interview-salvatore-shoemaker-venice-call-me-by-your-name-b421938.html)on his forthcoming [Sam Altman biopic](/tech/openai-chatgpt-sam-altman-tumbler-ridge-b2967352.html), *Artificial*.\n\nThe nearly completed film, starring Andrew Garfield as the [controversial OpenAI founder](/tech/florida-chatgpt-lawsuit-openai-ceo-sam-altman-b2987514.html), was originally slated for release in early 2027.\n\nThe premiere date, however, is now in limbo after the film was removed from the studio’s roster [months after Amazon agreed to expand its $38 billion, multi-year deal ](/news/world/americas/openai-amazon-nvidia-microsoft-seattle-b2857837.html)to run OpenAI’s systems on its cloud services. The new partnership, announced in February, includes a $50 billion investment in the AI company and the development of customized AI models.\n\n“We have the utmost respect and admiration for Luca Guadagnino as an award-winning filmmaker — not to mention a longstanding relationship that we hope to continue,” a spokesperson for Amazon said to [ Variety](https://variety.com/2026/film/global/luca-guadagnino-sam-altman-movie-artificial-dropped-amazon-1236785830/) in a statement. “We believe that\n\n*Artificial*will be better served if it were released by a different studio and are working closely with the filmmaking team to find the film a new home.”\n\n*The Independent* has contacted Amazon for further comment.\n\n*Artificial* would have marked the Oscar-nominated* Call Me By Your Name* director’s third Amazon film, following the critically acclaimed Zendaya-led tennis romance *Challengers* (2024) and the [academic scandal drama After the Hunt (2025)](/news/luca-guadagnino-new-york-amazon-julia-roberts-andrew-garfield-b2794491.html), starring Julia Roberts.\n\nThe new movie is said to chronicle the brief period when Altman was abruptly ousted as [OpenAI’s CEO in 2023 and subsequently rehired.](/tech/openai-sam-altman-return-ceo-b2450033.html) Monica Barbaro and Ike Barinholtz star alongside Garfield as former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, while Yura Borisov, Cooper Hoffman, Jason Schwartzman, Cooper Koch, Billie Lourd, Zosia Mamet, Angus Imrie, Chris O’Dowd, Mark Rylance and[ Margo’s Got Money Troubles breakout Thaddea Graham round out the cast](/arts-entertainment/tv/features/thaddea-graham-margos-got-money-troubles-interview-b2961433.html).\n\nIt is unclear exactly why the film was dropped, but according to *Variety*, the news came after it had already undergone positive screen tests.\n\nAn early viewer told the publication that the film’s portrayals of Altman and newly [minted trillionaire Musk ](/space/elon-musk-spacex-forbes-keir-starmer-neuralink-b2997231.html)are the two characters audiences would “like the least.” It was also reported that Amazon had already seen every early iteration of the script before Guadagnino was hired to direct.\n\nWatch Apple TV+ free for 7 day\n\nNew subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.\n\n[Try for free](https://tv.apple.com/gb/channel/tvs.sbd.4000?itscg=30200&itsct=independent_tv&ct=offer&at=1000l3akK)\n\nADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.\n\nWatch Apple TV+ free for 7 day\n\nNew subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.\n\n[Try for free](https://tv.apple.com/gb/channel/tvs.sbd.4000?itscg=30200&itsct=independent_tv&ct=offer&at=1000l3akK)\n\nADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.\n\nAltman and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos have developed a high-profile friendship over the years. In fact, the[ former was in attendance at Bezos’s wedding](/life-style/bezos-sanchez-wedding-guests-kardashians-venice-b2778347.html) to Lauren Sánchez, which took place in Venice, Italy, in 2025.\n\nIn recent months, the two have continued to deepen their professional partnership that began in 2015, when Amazon became one of OpenAI’s first investors. Ten years later, the companies closed their[ first major deal in November 2025](/news/world/americas/openai-amazon-nvidia-microsoft-seattle-b2857837.html), allowing the ChatGPT maker to run its systems on Amazon’s U.S. data centers.\n\n*Artificial* is reportedly being screened by other studios in a bid for a new distributor.\n\n## Join our commenting forum\n\nJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies\n\n[Comments](#comments-area)", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/amazon-drops-sam-altman-movie-after-announcing-openai-partnership", "canonical_source": "https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/sam-altman-biopic-amazon-openai-deal-b2999321.html", "published_at": "2026-06-19 18:29:33+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-19 18:45:16.236442+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-startups", "ai-policy"], "entities": ["Amazon MGM", "Luca Guadagnino", "Sam Altman", "OpenAI", "Andrew Garfield", "Elon Musk", "Variety", "The Independent"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/amazon-drops-sam-altman-movie-after-announcing-openai-partnership", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/amazon-drops-sam-altman-movie-after-announcing-openai-partnership.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/amazon-drops-sam-altman-movie-after-announcing-openai-partnership.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/amazon-drops-sam-altman-movie-after-announcing-openai-partnership.jsonld"}}