Luca Guadagnino set to helm Artificial based on real-life OpenAI story

With DC Studio’s Sgt. Rock axed, Luca Guadagnino has set his eyes on Artificial, an upcoming Amazon MGM Studios film based on the real-life OpenAI incident. The film is set to portray the rather short 2023 incident of firing and rehiring Sam Altman, CEO of the artificial intelligence company OpenAI.

Guadagnino is in discussions to direct the film from a script penned by Simon Richman, who will also produce. Producers are David Heyman and Jeffrey Clifford of Heyday Films, while Jennifer Fox is in talks to join them as producer.

Along with the filmmaker, Andrew Garfield, Monica Barbaro and Anora fame Yura Borisov are also in early talks to star in the film. Reportedly, Amazon MGM Studios is developing the film at immense pace, as it may commence filming in summer in San Francisco and Italy.

If discussions materialise, Garfield is expected to portray Altman, while Barbaro will essay chief technology officer Mira Murati. Borisov would play Ilya Sutskever, a co-founder who led the movement to get rid of Altman. Altman was a co-founder of OpenAI, but his board removed him as the company's CEO in the autumn of 2023 due to growing safety concerns about AI and allegations of abusive behaviour. He was reinstalled five days later following a mutiny.

Artificial will mark Guadagnino’s third collaboration with Amazon MGM Studios. His upcoming directorial, After the Hunt, starring Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, and Ayo Edebiri, is being released by the studio in theatres on October 10. In addition, he directed the Zendaya film Challengers, which the studio distributed in theatres last year.