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Luca Guadagnino's "Artificial," a film about Sam Altman's turbulent period at OpenAI, premiered at the New York Film Festival, with Andrew Garfield playing the OpenAI chief executive.
Early reactions described the film as "provocative" and "a deeply felt corporate world drama," and some said it is the director's best film in a decade.
Amazon MGM Studios left the project after the company signed a partnership with OpenAI that includes a $50 billion investment. Neon took over production and reached a deal to complete the $40 million film.
Altman was removed as OpenAI's chief executive by the company's board in November 2023 and reinstated days later. The film is set in this period.
Guadagnino said he is not "afraid" of the reaction from Altman or anyone depicted in the film. "I think people with too much power must be very aware that you have to be responsible to society," the director said.
Altman has never met Garfield. In his first thoughts on the film, he said the actor walks like him.
Garfield said he once believed Altman was the kind of leader the technology world needed. He now describes that admiration as a cautionary tale about charisma and power in the age of artificial intelligence.
"I thought, 'This guy seems great. Honest. Transparent. He talks about regulation and has no stake in OpenAI. We need more people like this who hold control. Incredibly charming and charismatic,'" Garfield said.
Garfield added that his view changed after in-depth research on Altman while preparing for the role.
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The film's awards campaign is focused on the Oscars. Garfield is expected to compete in the Best Supporting Actor category.
Yura Boris, who plays OpenAI co-founder and former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, is expected to compete in the Best Actor category. Monica Barbaro, who plays former OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati, is also expected to enter the Best Supporting Actress race.
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