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Luca Guadagnino, the writer-director behind such acclaimed movies as last year’s Queer and Challengers, has potentially found his next project. The filmmaker is in talks to helm Artificial for Amazon MGM Studios, Deadline is reporting.
The deal has not yet officially closed for the filmmaker to direct the drama. But he recently garnered more time in his schedule, as production on his DC Studios project, Sgt. Rock, has been delayed a full year.
The World War II action movie was originally expected to be released in late summer before DC reconsidered its plans. The studio claimed it delayed the film’s production because of daylight issues. Now Guadagnino’s new project is expected to begin before Sgt. Rock‘s originally planned start date.
Amazon MGM Studios and Guadagnino have also began looking into actors who they may potentially cast in Artificial. The ensemble may be led by Andrew Garfield, A Complete Unknown actress Monica Barbaro and Yura Borisov, one of the breakout stars of the Oscar-winning Anora.
The studio also hasn’t released the official synopsis for the upcoming movie. But the drama will reportedly chronicle the struggles of artificial intelligence company OpenAI in 2023. That fall, the company’s CEO and co-founder, Sam Altman was fired. The company decided to let him go from his job after it received mounting safety concerns regarding AI. He also faced reports of abusive behavior.
As a result, the leader of the company was removed as the head of the company by his board. Five days later, after a revolt of his dismissal, he was reinstated.
In terms of casting, Garfield is in talks to play Altman. The Oscar nominee will be joined by Barbaro, who’s expected to play the company’s chief technology officer, Mira Murati. Borisov will reportedly play Ilya Sutskever, a co-founder who led the movement to have Altman removed.
Simon Rich wrote the script for, and will produce, the feature alongside Heyday Films’ David Heyman and Jeffrey Clifford. Jennifer Fox is also in talks to produce the drama.
Guadagnino, who’s also known for directing the Academy Award-winning Call Me by Your Name, has expressed his interest in always wanting to work. The filmmaker was preparing to shoot Sgt. Rock later this summer with Colin Farrell leading the cast.
When the movie’s production had to be pushed back, the filmmaker moved quickly to find another feature he could shoot this year. He contemplated several options before deciding to make Artificial.
The drama will remain in development until everyone on the cast and crew has closed a deal. But the studio hopes to shoot the movie later this year once those deals have been approved.
The upcoming film will reunite Guadagnino and Amazon MGM Studios for their third feature. The most recent film he directed was the thriller After the Hunt, which stars Julia Roberts, Garfield and Ayo Edebiri. The studio will release the movie in theaters on October 10. The filmmaker and studio also collaborated on Challengers, which stars Zendaya and was released theatrically last year.
Heyman also works with the studio, as he’s preparing to produce the next James Bond movie with Amy Pascal. He also produced all eight film adaptations of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books, as well as the three Fantastic Beasts features.
Amazon is looking to start production on Artificial this summer. The studio is planning on shooting the drama in San Francisco and Italy.
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