OpenAI founder Sam Altman's biopic, Artificial, finds new backer in Neon after being dropped by Amazon

ARtificial, Luca Guadagnino's starry take well-nigh Sam Altman and OpenAI, generated quite an a few headlines in June when virago MGM Studios backed come out of producing it. This left the almost-completed film in limbo. But now, a new production house has acquired it, pretty much reviving the film from the dead.Neon acquires ArtificialIndie distributor Neon said on Tuesday that it had bought the film following a bidding process, according to a report by Associated Press. Neon has said that it plans to release the film later this year and “compete in this year's Oscar race.” Neon declined to disclose how much it paid for the worldwide rights to Artificial. “The acquisition underscores Neon’s commitment to partnering with visionary filmmakers, and bringing ambitious cinema to audiences around the world,” the studio said in a statement.In the past few years, Neon has established an enviable awards-season track record with Oscar winners like Parasite and Anora. The speciality label has backed the last seven Palme d'Or winners at the Cannes Film Festival.How Artificial was dropped by AmazonAmazon dropped the nearly complete $40 million film, starring Andrew Garfield as Altman, last month in a surprise move that came just months after Amazon announced a multi-billion-dollar deal with OpenAI. While Amazon said then that Artificial would “be better served if it were released by a different studio,” there was speculation that the Amazon-OpenAI deal was instrumental in the studio not backing a film supposedly critical of the tech giant's founder.In late February, Amazon signed an expansive multiyear partnership with the artificial intelligence startup. Then, earlier this month, Amazon MGM said it would put the film up for sale to find it a new home.Variety quoted a spokesperson for Amazon as saying, “We have the utmost respect and admiration for Luca Guadagnino as an award-winning filmmaker, not to mention a longstanding relationship that we hope to continue. We believe that Artificial will be better served if it were released by a different studio and are working closely with the filmmaking team to find the film a new home.”The filmmaker has not commented on the matter so far.About ArtificialArtificial, which chronicles the days leading up to the 2023 firing and reinstatement of Altman as OpenAI chief executive, stars Andrew Garfield as Sam Altman. It also stars Monica Barbaro, Yura Borisov and Academy Award winner Mark Rylance, while Ike Barinholtz plays Elon Musk.