Amazon Drops Sam Altman Movie After Announcing OpenAI Partnership (the-independent.com) 25
Amazon MGM has dropped Luca Guadagnino's nearly completed Sam Altman biopic Artificial and is seeking another distributor for the film. The move comes months after Amazon expanded its multibillion-dollar partnership with OpenAI, fueling speculation about a potential conflict given the movie's reportedly unflattering portrayal of Altman. The Independent reports: 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), starring Julia Roberts. The new movie is said to chronicle the brief period when Altman was abruptly ousted as OpenAI's CEO in 2023 and subsequently rehired. 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.
It is unclear exactly why the film was dropped, but according to Variety, the news came after it had already undergone positive screen tests. An early viewer told the publication that the film's portrayals of Altman and newly minted trillionaire Musk 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. Altman 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 to Lauren Sanchez, which took place in Venice, Italy, in 2025. In 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, allowing the ChatGPT maker to run its systems on Amazon's U.S. data centers.
It is unclear exactly why the film was dropped, but according to Variety, the news came after it had already undergone positive screen tests. An early viewer told the publication that the film's portrayals of Altman and newly minted trillionaire Musk 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. Altman 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 to Lauren Sanchez, which took place in Venice, Italy, in 2025. In 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, allowing the ChatGPT maker to run its systems on Amazon's U.S. data centers.
Re: (Score:1)
Good? (Score:3)
Totally ghey (Score:1, Insightful)
Biopics for living people?
Nobody got time for your sycophancy.
Worse than Melania. 0/10
Re: (Score:2)
You must be joking. (Score:5, Insightful)
"It is unclear exactly why the film was dropped,"
Are you serious? This is Amazon, where they make bold and critically acclaimed films such as "Melania".
Drop drop (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: Drop drop (Score:3)
Re: Drop drop (Score:4, Insightful)
I got that, after perusing TFS. But it's still a good reason to drop the dual usage. It's use in confusing situations should be sanctioned.
Re: (Score:2)
I got that, after perusing TFS. But it's still a good reason to drop the dual usage. It's use in confusing situations should be sanctioned.
I wish I had mod points. That is the cleverest comment I've seen in a long time.
Give us a good deal, or else... (Score:2)
I see this as slightly problematic. We will make a movie that likely portrays you in a negative light and will be seen my millions if you don't give us a good deal. But once the deal is signed, the movie will go away quietly. Even if it isn't, it reeks of extortion.
Dropped? (Score:2, Insightful)
/., don't use "dropped" to mean released (for example, the recent story "Android 17 Drops For Pixel Phones and Watch [slashdot.org]" while also using the same fucking word to mean "will not be carrying". If your job title is "Editor", try editing once in a while.
Re: (Score:1)
These fucking people (Score:3)
And I use that word very loosely.
So self-absorbed, so self-important...
We all know how this ends. It's just a question of when.
poopoo (Score:3)
All biopics are revisionist garbage. Make an actual documentary, or just stick to romcoms.
HHGTTG (Score:2)
Amazon Fable intervention (Score:1)
Beyond garbage (Score:2)
I didn't even watch Melania but I heard there are SOME inaccuracies.
The Michael Jackson movie was an absolute joke when it came to accuracy. It was basically a summary of marketing fluff, image consultant BS and not anything about who he really was or what he really did. Might as