Neon, the award-winning studio behind some of the most daring and celebrated films of the last nine years, announced today it has acquired, from Amazon MGM Studios, world-wide rights to “Artificial,” the highly anticipated film from Academy Award nominated filmmaker, Luca Guadagnino. The film chronicles the incredibly consequential days leading up to the sudden firing and reinstatement of Sam Altman as CEO of OpenAI, as the fate of who gets to control the technology at the center of an AI arms race hangs in the balance. The acquisition underscores NEONs commitment to partnering with visionary filmmakers, and bringing ambitious cinema to audiences around the world. “Artificial” will compete in this year’s Oscar race.

Anchored by a powerhouse ensemble, the film stars Oscar® nominees, Andrew Garlfied as Sam Altman, Yura Borisov (“Anora”) as Ilya Sutskever, Monica Barbaro (“A Complete Unknown”) as Mira Murati, and Oscar winner Mark Rylance (“Bridge of Spies”) as Nobel Prize Winner Geoffrey Hinton. The cast is rounded out by Ike Barinholtz, Jason Schwartzman, Zosia Mamet, Cooper Hoffman, Chris O’Dowd, Cooper Koch and Billie Lourd.

The script, penned by SNL alum Simon Rich, is produced by Rich and Guadagnino, alongside Heyday Films’ David Heyman and Jeffrey Clifford, and Jennifer Fox. Shot in San Francisco and Italy, the film was edited by longtime Guadagnino collaborator Marco Costa, with cinematography by Malik Hassan Sayeed, production design by Stefano Baisi, costumes by JW, and an original score and original songs by Damon Albarn.

As one of contemporary cinema’s defining auteurs, the AcademyAward nominated director reteams with Garfield, who starred in Guadagnino’s previous film, “After the Hunt.” “Artificial” joins an acclaimed body of work that includes the Oscar nominated, “Call Me By Your Name,” and “Challengers,” as well as “I Am Love,” “Suspiria,” “Bones and All,” and “Queer.”

The deal was negotiated by Alison Cohen for Neon, with CAA Media Finance and Amazon MGM Studios.

“Artificial” joins Neon’s award-winning 2026 slate, alongside Cristian Mungiu’s Palme d’Or winner, “Fjord,” James Gray’s “Paper Tiger,” Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Cannes prize winner, “All of a Sudden,” Hirokazu Koreeda’s “Sheep in the Box,” Director Na’s “Hope,” Arie and Chuko’s “Clarissa,” and William and David Greaves’s “Once Upon a Time in Harlem.” Earlier this year, the studio received recognition at the 98th Academy Awards, including Best Picture nods for “Sentimental Value” and “The Secret Agent” (with the former ultimately winning Best International Feature Film) – recent milestones including the record-breaking IMAX opening of “EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert” and Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice” crossing $10 million domestically. Most recently, the company released Boots Riley’s “I Love Boosters” and Adrian Chiarella’s Sundance hit, “Leviticus.”

About Neon
In only nine years, Neon has garnered 57 Academy Award nominations, winning Best Picture for Sean Baker’s “Anora” and Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite.” This year, Neon received 18 Oscar nominations, the second most for any motion picture studio. Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” and Kleber Mendonca Filho’s “The Secret Agent” were both nominated for best picture, with “Sentimental Value” ultimately winning the award for Best International Film – bringing the studio’s total to 11 wins.

Neon continues to champion bold, risk-taking cinema and has built an impressive streak winning the coveted Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, with seven consecutive wins, including this most recent year’s winner “Fjord,” as well as “It Was Just an Accident,” “Anora,” “Parasite,” “Anatomy of a Fall,” “Titane,” and “Triangle of Sadness.” In 2024, Neon was named The Hollywood Reporter’s Independent Studio of the Year and received the Clio Award for Studio of the Year.

As a burgeoning leader in the production space, Neon’s recent and upcoming in-house productions include: David Robert Mitchell’s “They Follow;” Alex Ullom’s “4 x 4: the Event;” Matt Johnson’s “The Vice Guide;” and Arie and Chuko Esiri’s “Clarissa,” which had its world premiere at the Directors’ Fortnight during this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Neon has grossed over half-a-billion at the box office, highlights include Osgood Perkins’ “Longlegs,” which was the highest grossing independent film of 2024 at $75 million domestically, and his follow-up feature “The Monkey,” Neon’s second highest opening. The studio is currently in post on its fourth Perkins film, “The Young People.” Their upcoming slate includes notable auteurs such as Chloe Domont and Cristian Mungiu. Neon’s recent releases include “Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie;” Baz Luhrmann’s “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert;” Steven Soderbergh’s “The Christophers;” and “Hokum” starring Adam Scott. Up next: Alex Ullom’s “It Ends;” Sundance hit “Leviticus;” “Her Private Hell;” James Grey’s “Paper Tiger,” Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “All of A Sudden;” and Bong Joon Ho’s “Ally.”

Neon’s library spans more than 140 films, including Academy Award nominees “Sirat,” “Arco,” “Perfect Days,” “Robot Dreams,” “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” “Moonage Daydream,” and “Flee,” which made history becoming the first film to score an impressive trifecta of Oscar nominations; double Oscar nominee “The Worst Person in The World,” “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” and triple Oscar nominee and winner “I, Tonya.”