Andrew Garfield has spoken publicly for the first time about Amazon MGM Studios dropping "Artificial," the nearly completed $40 million film in which he plays OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino and scripted by Simon Rich, "Artificial" chronicles the chaotic 72 hours in November 2023 when Altman was fired and then rehired by OpenAI's board. Garfield leads an ensemble that includes Mark Rylance, Monica Barbaro, Yura Borisov, Cooper Hoffman, Jason Schwartzman, Ike Barinholtz, Zosia Mamet, Chris O'Dowd, Cooper Koch, and Billie Lourd (Variety).

Speaking to Variety while promoting his new film "The Magic Faraway Tree," Garfield said he never contacted Altman while preparing for the role. He did not elaborate on whether the avoidance was deliberate. Cooper Hoffman, who also appears in the film, told the outlet he was not surprised Amazon walked away and said he was glad Neon stepped in.

Amazon MGM Studios dropped the film and issued a statement saying it believed "Artificial" would "be better served if it were released by a different studio" (Variety). The decision landed months after Amazon signed a major partnership with OpenAI that included a $50 billion investment, and less than a year after Altman attended Jeff Bezos's wedding.

After Amazon's exit, Netflix, A24, and Focus Features all passed on the project before Neon acquired it on June 30, 2026 (Variety). Neon — the independent distributor behind recent best-picture winners "Parasite" and "Anora" — has committed to launching an Oscars awards campaign for the film this year, even though release is not planned until early 2027 (Variety).

What makes the situation unusual is the convergence of a corporate investment and a film about the very executive at its centre. Amazon committed $50 billion to a partnership with OpenAI, then quietly let go of a finished film dramatising the most turbulent moment in that company's history. Whether those two facts are connected is something no party has addressed on the record.

For now, "Artificial" has a home, a star willing to talk about it, and a distributor betting it can compete for awards. The film just no longer has the backing of a studio with a $50 billion reason to keep its new partner happy.