Artificial, Guadagnino's satirical Sam Altman biopic, premieres at New York Film Festival

The New York Film Festival premiere of Artificial was not the only place where the film's subject matter radiated off-screen. Before the first frame played, the opening speaker thanked Neon for "standing behind this film" — the unsaid part clearly being "when Amazon wouldn't." Amazon MGM Studios famously dropped the film in June after Amazon's $50 billion investment in OpenAI. During a select cast Q&A after the screening, Ike Barinholtz, who portrays Elon Musk, said he had been nervous to take the role, joking he might be put in a gulag afterward; another cast member darkly joined in, saying maybe they'd be put in the same one. Cooper Hoffman, who plays OpenAI president Greg Brockman, said the more he sat with the characters, the easier it is to feel that, "Oh, fuck, I hate these guys." Then, he said, "you realize [they're the ones] in power."