Amazon drops Sam Altman movie after announcing OpenAI partnership
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Amazon dropped a Sam Altman biopic months after deepening its OpenAI partnership.
Amazon MGM dropped Luca Guadagnino's nearly completed biopic 'Artificial' starring Andrew Garfield as Sam Altman. The decision came months after Amazon expanded its $38 billion deal to run OpenAI's systems on its cloud services, including a $50 billion investment. Amazon said it will help find a new distributor for the film, which chronicles Altman's 2023 ouster and rehiring. The film had positive screen tests; sources say Altman and Elon Musk are depicted as the least likable characters.
What commenters are saying
Commenters were split: some saw the move as a clear conflict of interest given Amazon's deepening OpenAI partnership, while others argued Amazon's offer to help find another distributor was reasonable. Several drew parallels to the 1940s Paramount antitrust case, suggesting tech platforms owning studios creates similar issues. One camp argued the movie would be boring regardless, calling Altman an uninteresting subject, while others pointed to David Fincher's 'The Social Network' as proof a skilled director could make it compelling. Some noted the headline implied causation that isn't proven.