We have reached the point where every awards season produces a movie nobody wants to be seen with. This year, it might also be a movie that one very specific person would prefer no one sees at all.
That movie is “Artificial,” Luca Guadagnino’s dramatization of the 2023 weekend that nearly toppled OpenAI, which Amazon MGM Studios dropped from its slate, as Variety reported. The move came after Amazon struck a partnership with the tech company in February to expand OpenAI’s use of Amazon Web Services and develop custom AI models, a deal that included a $50 billion investment from Amazon.
Now, nearly two weeks later, Tom Quinn’s indie company Neon has closed a deal to acquire the film and confirmed it will get a qualifying release for this year’s Oscar race. The anticipated drama joins Neon’s expansive and crowded lineup, which includes high-profile Cannes acquisitions such as Cristian Mungiu’s Palme d’Or winner “Fjord,” starring Sebastian Stan; James Gray’s “Paper Tiger,” with Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson; and Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Japanese drama “All of a Sudden,” in addition to titles still to come such as “Clarissa,” a reimagining of “Mrs. Dalloway” starring Sophie Okonedo, and “A Place in Hell,” with Michelle Williams and directed by Chloe Domont, whose sophomore feature follows her acclaimed 2023 debut “Fair Play.”
