As Neon debates whether to send Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial, starring Andrew Garfield, to a fall festival and questions linger over Hollywood’s uneasy relationship with the Big Tech companies, distributors who considered buying the film are making their views clear.
“The purported controversy had no impact,” said one, referring to the initial belief that the feature might be too hot to handle after it was dropped by Amazon MGM Studios.
The source, which screened the drama about the late-2023 firing and rehiring of OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman, continued: “The film was viewed exclusively on its merits as a film: unfortunately, it’s dull, ponderous and another misfire from Luca. Its poor test scores and rejection from other buyers also reflect that.”
CAA Media Finance shopped Artificial around town after Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios head Mike Hopkins reportedly decided the feature was too dark and would be “better served” elsewhere.
Parent Amazon’s $50bn investment in OpenAI earlier in the year fuelled conjecture around the wisdom of championing such a film at a time of Hollywood’s deepening ties with the tech companies and billionaire business overlords, although it is unclear whether the OpenAI investment happened before or after the reportedly $40m project was greenlit.
After Amazon MGM Studios parted ways with Artificial, Mubi bid on the film. Companies also understood to have screened it include Netflix, Warner Bros Clockwork, Focus Features and A24. As with the others, it is entirely plausible A24 determined the film did not pass muster purely on artistic grounds. However, as an illustration of the Hollywood-tech nexus, it is worth noting A24 has taken investment from Thrive Capital, an OpenAI backer, and more recently struck a research and development partnership with AI firm Google DeepMind.
Another company understood to have taken a look is Sony Pictures, which, despite being owned by a tech empire, is later this year releasing the Facebook whistleblower thriller The Social Reckoning, a sequel of sorts to The Social Network.
Neon eventually confirmed it had secured worldwide rights last week (June 30) in a deal Screen understands did not involve an advance but will see a significant P&A spend. The understanding is Amazon’s Hopkins is prepared to write off the film and move on, although full details of the agreement are unknown.
Neon CEO Tom Quinn and his team are now plotting how and when to launch Artificial and Screen understands every major fall festival has offered it a premiere slot. The season opens with Venice, Telluride and Toronto and continues with New York and London. Venice is a frequent launchpad for Guadagnino’s films – After The Hunt, Queer and Bones And All have all screened on the Lido.
Sources at the other companies that screened the film seemed divided on its merits. Some called it mediocre, adding that it offered no new information about the saga or the billionaire protagonists Altman and Elon Musk (played by Ike Barinholtz from The Studio), Altman’s OpenAI co-founder who eventually became a rival and recently lost a court case against the artificial intelligence firm.
The nay-saying could be a sincere critical response, or a case of sour grapes on the part of buyers who missed out. While some conceded Artificial could make money, they questioned whether it was worth the effort if the real-life billionaires sue over what are said to be unflattering portrayals.
One highlight cited by two sources was the performance of Oscar-nominated Yura Borisov from Anora, who is said to be a standout as Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI’s original chief scientist who played a part in Altman’s initial ouster and reinstatement.
What seems certain is that Neon is bullish about Guadagnino’s latest. One awards exec said Quinn and co. were aware of the pressure points before they took on the film and went in prepared to mount a campaign.
“Artificial will compete in this year’s Oscar race,” as Neon declared last week.
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