Artificial: What Luca Guadagnino's Sam Altman Film Says About AI and Power

"Artificial," directed by Luca Guadagnino, traces the development of artificial intelligence from Geoffrey Hinton's University of Toronto lab in 2003 through the founding and rapid growth of OpenAI, according to a review published by Time. Andrew Garfield stars as OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, with the film premiering at the New York Film Festival on October 5, 2026.

A drama built around a real boardroom crisis

The film dramatizes Altman's ouster from OpenAI by its board in November 2023 and his reinstatement five days later, according to a report by NME. Alongside Garfield, the cast includes Yura Borisov as OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, Mark Rylance as Geoffrey Hinton, Monica Barbaro as former chief technology officer Mira Murati, and Ike Barinholtz as Elon Musk, Time reported.

Time's review describes Garfield's Altman as alternating between comic exaggeration and menace, while portraying Sutskever as a moral counterpoint — a researcher who, in the film's telling, remains principled as the company's direction shifts toward commercial goals.

Corporate power behind and in front of the camera

The making of "Artificial" has its own corporate-power subplot. According to NME, Amazon originally financed the project but withdrew from releasing it earlier in 2026, after announcing a $50 billion partnership with OpenAI. The independent studio Neon then acquired distribution rights.

Garfield told NME he felt the finished film needed "even more teeth" to confront the people he says now wield outsized, largely unregulated power over AI development.

Critics split on whether the satire lands

Early reviews have been largely favorable. Time's Stephanie Zacharek called the film "exhilarating" yet despairing in outlook, praising it as entertaining rather than preachy. NME cited the critic Matt Neglia of Next Best Picture describing it as possibly "the most urgently relevant film of our time," and cited another critic calling it a spiritual sequel to "The Social Network."

Not every assessment has been as positive. A review in Mother Jones argued the film undercuts its own seriousness by rendering tech executives as "goofy megalomaniacs" rather than genuinely dangerous figures, comparing its satire to the energy of "Saturday Night Live sketches — immediate, but largely short on depth and nuance." The review also said the film's discussion of AI's existential risks remains vague rather than concretely grounded.

Release dates differ by outlet

Sources give different release timelines. Time reported a limited release beginning December 25, 2026, while NME reported the film arrives in wide theatrical release on January 22, 2027. Both outlets agree the October 5, 2026 New York Film Festival screening was the film's premiere.

The film's score was composed by Damon Albarn and has been described by NME as Bowie-influenced.