Luca Guadagnino’s Sam Altman Movie ‘Artificial’ Will World Premiere at NYFF 2026
After being dropped by Amazon MGM and promptly picked up by Neon, the film about the controversial founder of OpenAI will now begin its festival run this October.
Director Luca Guadagnino's new film "Artificial," which tells the story of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is set to make its world premiere at this year's New York Film Festival. Andrew Garfield stars as Altman in the movie, which faced controversy when it was dropped by its original distributor Amazon MGM in June. Neon took over the distribution, leading to the film's selection for the festival.
Monica Barbaro, Yura Borisov, Ike Barinholtz, Cooper Hoffman, Jason Schwartzman, and Chris O'Dowd also star in "Artificial." The movie delves into the time when Altman was fired and subsequently rehired by OpenAI, capturing the period through a combination of clear-eyed horror, dark humor, and a sense of existential urgency. NYFF Artistic Director Dennis Lim praised the film for its timely relevance, stating that it "finds the perfect tone to tell the story of how we arrived at the AI precipice."
Starring as OpenAI co-founder Elon Musk is Barinholtz, Barbaro plays OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, and Borisov portrays OpenAI Chief Science Officer Ilya Sutskever. Written by Simon Rich, the film explores the dynamics within OpenAI during a crucial phase of its history. "Artificial" joins other notable titles in this year's NYFF lineup, including "Paper Tiger," "14th," "Godzilla Minus Zero," and "Andor" creator Tony Gilroy's music drama "Behemoth!" with Pedro Pascal and Olivia Wilde.
The festival is scheduled to run from Sept. 25 to Oct. 12, marking a return to the NYFF for Guadagnino, who last had a film open the festival in 2025 with "After the Hunt."
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