Elon Musk stands in an elevator to attend the trial in his lawsuit over OpenAI at a federal courthouse, in Oakland. REUTERS For those who can’t get enough of the Elon Musk-Sam Altman feud, rest assured, the drama will continue long after the explosive trial starring the two tech tycoons wraps later this month.
Amazon MGM is about to date its Luca Guadagnino-helmed film “Artificial,” which features Andrew Garfield as Altman and Ike Barinholtz as Musk. Sources tell Page Six Hollywood that the studio is aiming for an early 2027 release because it didn’t want the film to go up against “The Social Network” sequel given that the two films share similar themes of cutthroat tech billionaires. Sony has already carved out a fall bow for “The Social Reckoning,” with Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg. The Aaron Sorkin film will hit theaters on Oct. 9.
No one outside of Amazon MGM has yet seen “Artificial” including Altman. And it could get uncomfortable when he eventually does.
One source familiar with the project says Altman’s character in “Artificial” apparently doesn’t come off as particularly sympathetic. Nor does Musk. Adding to the awkwardness, Altman and Amazon founder and executive chair Jeff Bezos are friends. Furthermore, Altman’s OpenAI and Amazon are now deep in business together. The companies recently announced a strategic partnership that will see Amazon invest $15 billion in OpenAI immediately, “followed by another $35 billion in the coming months when certain conditions are met,” according to the AI giant’s website.
Sources say the star and hero of “Artificial” is neither Garfield nor Barinholtz and is instead Yura Borisov, the Russian actor nominated for a supporting actor Oscar in 2025 for playing “Anora” henchman Igor. Borisov plays real-life OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, who “got most screwed,” says a source familiar with the shooting script.
Last year, Puck got its hands on Simon Rich’s “top secret” script and reported that Warner Bros. and Paramount passed on it because it was “dull.” But sources deny that Rich’s script was ever shopped, and say Amazon bought it as a pitch before a script existed. And, as is typical with a Guadagnino film, the script changed significantly once the director began working on it.
Amazon is about to lock the picture, which is finishing up its test screenings.Amazon declined comment.
