Artificial Premieres to Oscar Buzz at NYFF as Andrew Garfield's Altman Performance Draws Raves
Updated
Updated · Variety · Oct 6
Artificial Premieres to Oscar Buzz at NYFF as Andrew Garfield's Altman Performance Draws Raves
3 articles · Updated · Variety · Oct 6
Summary
New York Film Festival audiences gave Luca Guadagnino’s “Artificial” a rapturous premiere, quickly elevating the OpenAI drama into the Oscar conversation.
Andrew Garfield’s turn as Sam Altman drew the strongest awards buzz, with Variety likening his performance to Anthony Perkins in “Psycho” and arguing Neon’s supporting-actor campaign could capitalize on his overdue narrative.
Yura Borisov, playing Ilya Sutskever, is being positioned as lead, reflecting a film structure centered on the 5-day November 2023 board revolt that fired Altman, triggered threats from 700-plus employees and ended with his reinstatement.
Neon picked up the film after Amazon MGM dropped it months after Amazon’s parent committed $50 billion to OpenAI, a move the report frames as politically fraught for an AI-critical movie.
“Artificial” next heads to the BFI London Film Festival before a Dec. 25 limited release and January expansion, testing whether early festival acclaim can hold through awards season.