Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial had its premiere at the New York Film Festival, and what a road it has been to get to this moment. The film, which takes place during a tumultuous time when OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman (Andrew Garfield), was fired and then rehired by the company in 2023, was originally set up and ready to go at Amazon MGM Studios, but they chose to drop the project suspiciously after signing a huge partnership deal with OpenAI that included a $50 billion investment.
After the film was viewed by various studios to be picked up for release, Neon stepped in to complete the $40 million film and immediately made it known in a press release that it would be one of their awards season players. With the movie finally being seen by some of the film press, it’s time to find out, based on the first reactions, if the pick-up by Neon was worth it, or if the OpenAI feature should’ve been left to collect dust.
What Are The First Reactions Saying?
Artificial is receiving high praise that should go a long way to ensuring that it will be present and accounted for as awards season heats up. Some reactions come right out of the gate, saying the film is Guadagnino’s best project in a decade, while several say the film is visceral, topical, and downright horrifying in its depiction of greed, ambition, and control.
Many reactions declare how relevant the film is for our time, while others say it’s a compelling corporate drama that feels like a true sequel to The Social Network in its style and execution when compared to the other timely drama hitting screens soon, The Social Reckoning. Other reactions call it an essential film that deserves to be seen and, in terms of performances, Garfield and Yura Borisov, who is portraying the mind behind OpenAI, Ilya Sutskever, deliver brilliant turns that should have them in play when it’s time to hand out acting nominations.
Garfield in particular is said to walk a fine line that gives the film a pitch-perfect dark comedy edge as he balances coming off as an evil genius and a buffoon of a mogul. You can check out some of the first reactions below!
What Is Artifical About?
Directed by Guadagnino and written by Simon Rich, Artificial is a fiercely topical biographical comedy drama that centers on the controversial firing and rehiring of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (Garfield) in 2023. The ensemble also includes Borisov, Monica Barbaro, Cooper Hoffman, Jason Schwartzman, Chris O’Dowd, Ike Barinholtz, Mark Rylance, Billie Lourd, and Cooper Koch.
Amazon MGM Studios, where Guadagnino has had a positive working relationship, seemed like the perfect place for Artificial, and they had a release set for early 2027 before they chose to drop the film. Even though it wasn’t given as the official reason, the trades immediately took notice of the timing of the decision, which came days after Amazon signed a $50 billion deal with OpenAI. Another reason for the decision was speculated to have to do with the unsympathetic portrayals of Altman and Elon Musk (Barinholtz) in the film.
While Guadagnino was shocked by Amazon’s move, perhaps his working relationship with the company, or potential backlash, led to the company still being instrumental in the film’s pursuit to be picked up by another distributor. A24, Focus Features, Warner Bros. Clockwork, Netflix, and Neon all screened the film, and every studio passed except for Neon. Test scores were extremely positive, so many wondered why all of these companies passed, and that speculation also came down to the subject matter of the film. Soon after Neon acquired the film, they made it clear that it would be released in time for award season and that, after having viewed the film, it definitely deserved to be in the awards conversation. Turns out they may have been right.
Also in the wake of its New York Film Festival premiere, it was announced that the film’s awards campaign will extend across all major categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Garfield and Rylance), Best Actor (Borisov), and Best Supporting Actress (Barbaro).
Artificial hits screens on Dec. 25.
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