Amazon didn’t want you to see it. OpenAI probably doesn’t want you to see it. And we’d wager that Sam Altman almost definitely doesn’t want you to see it. But Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial — which sees Andrew Garfield play Altman during the crazy five-day period in November 2023 that saw him fired and then reinstated as the controversial research company’s CEO — has been picked up by Neon and is heading to cinemas, anyway. And as the great AI debate rages on, the newly dropped first trailer for Guadagnino’s latest only promises to add fuel to the discourse’s flames. Check it out below;
Well, we can see why Amazon decided not to keep this one after announcing a $50 billion funding partnership with OpenAI… this is not an inspirational story of technological innovation and bright-eyed optimism about our artificial intelligence powered future. “We opened Pandora’s box together,” narrates Garfield as his Altman is shown entering a bunker inexplicably filled with assault rifles. “The future’s inevitable. Countries will fall. Industries are gonna collapse. And we get to be the ones to shepherd people in to this new world.” And with a smash-cut to blink-and-you’ll-miss-it glimpses of the rise of ChatGPT and the seeming fall of all involved parties’ humanity, the stage is set for the feel-bad event of 2027. “I’m so excited to see it,” says Garfield at the end of the trailer, tears in Altman’s eyes. And while we may not go so far as to say we’re excited to see it, per sé, our curiosity has certainly been piqued for After The Hunt collaborators Garfield and Guadagnino’s latest team-up.
The synopsis for Artificial, whose starry ensemble includes the likes of Ike Barinholtz, Monica Barbaro, Cooper Hoffman, Mark Rylance, Jason Schwartzman, and Billie Lourd, reads: “Artificial chronicles the incredibly consequential days leading up to the sudden firing and reinstatement of Sam Altman, as the fate of who gets to control the technology at the centre of an AI arms race hangs in the balance.”
Penned by SNL alumni Simon Rich and featuring music by Blur and Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn, Artificial, Andrew Garfield’s second Silicon Valley tech bro biopic (see also: The Social Network), is set to receive its UK premiere at the London Film Festival this October before hitting British cinemas on 22 January, 2027. Somewhat hilariously, those living across the pond can look forward to enjoying Guadagnino’s meditation on AI with all the family on Christmas Day, which is when Artificial lands in US multiplexes. You can’t spell happy holidays without AI, y’all!
