Andrew Garfield’s ‘Artificial’ Movie Trailer Released A Dramatic Journey to Theaters

Few upcoming films have stirred as much behind-the-scenes drama as Luca Guadagnino’s latest project, a dramatization of one of Silicon Valley’s most chaotic corporate stories. Long before audiences saw a single frame, the film became embroiled in the very kind of boardroom controversy it aimed to portray.

This controversy began earlier this year when the original distributor, Amazon MGM Studios, unexpectedly dropped the nearly-finished film. This decision raised eyebrows, especially given its timing, as it followed Amazon’s massive partnership deal with OpenAI. Many speculated that the studio wanted to distance itself from a project scrutinizing the very company it had just invested billions into.

Now, months later, after Neon stepped in to save the project, the first trailer for ‘Artificial’ has finally arrived. It offers audiences their clearest glimpse yet of Andrew Garfield’s transformation into OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The teaser confirms that the film will hit theaters this Christmas, positioning it as a significant contender for awards season as the year comes to a close.

‘Artificial’ focuses on the notorious five-day corporate upheaval in November 2023, during which Altman was abruptly fired by OpenAI’s board before making a dramatic return just days later. Directed by Guadagnino, with a script by ‘SNL’ alum Simon Rich, the film reunites the director with Garfield following their previous collaboration on ‘After the Hunt’.

The ensemble cast surrounding Garfield features a lineup of recent awards-circuit talent, including Yura Borisov as OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, Monica Barbaro as former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, and Mark Rylance portraying Geoffrey Hinton, the Nobel Prize-winning researcher often referred to as the “Godfather of AI.” Ike Barinholtz also stars as OpenAI co-founder Elon Musk, alongside supporting performances from Jason Schwartzman, Cooper Hoffman, Chris O’Dowd, Zosia Mamet, Cooper Koch, and Billie Lourd.

Garfield has openly discussed the challenge of portraying a real, active tech executive without having met him. “I don’t know Sam Altman. I’ve never met him,” Garfield shared with Esquire U.K., noting that his performance was crafted solely from the screenplay, court transcripts, interviews, and independent research rather than any direct relationship with his subject.

Beyond dramatizing corporate intrigue, the film has been described in festival materials as addressing much larger questions about the trajectory of technology, tracing two decades of machine learning research and what organizers have termed “technocratic recklessness” leading up to the present moment. This framing positions ‘Artificial’ as a moral reckoning rather than just a straightforward business drama.

‘Artificial’ will make its world premiere at the New York Film Festival on October 5, following its surprise last-minute addition to the festival’s main slate after the Amazon controversy initially threatened to sideline it entirely. Neon is reportedly planning a limited awards-qualifying theatrical run beginning in late December, firmly placing the film within this year’s awards conversation.

The film boasts notable technical talent behind the camera, featuring cinematography from Malik Hassan Sayeed, editing by longtime Guadagnino collaborator Marco Costa, and an original score and songs composed by Blur and Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn.

Given the challenges the film has faced on its journey to theaters, from a high-profile distributor exit to a hurried festival rollout, ‘Artificial’ arrives with a real-world backstory almost as dramatic as the boardroom chaos it depicts on screen.

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