Amazon abandoned Thursday the nearly completed biographical film "Artificial Intelligence" directed by Luca Guadagnino about Sam Altman, a move occurring just days after the company committed to investing $50 billion in Altman's OpenAI—a conflict of interest in this deal that cannot be overlooked. The film stars Andrew Garfield as OpenAI's chief executive officer and Eike Barinholtz as Elon Musk, and was originally scheduled for a qualification release on Christmas this year, followed by a wide theatrical release in early 2027 through Amazon MGM Studios. But now the film is being shopped to other buyers.

An Amazon spokeswoman told Variety: "We believe that 'Artificial Intelligence' would be better served by another distributor," adding that the company "is working closely with the filmmaking team to find a new distributor for the film." Timing is everything. According to OpenAI's website, Amazon signed a $50 billion "strategic partnership" agreement with OpenAI in February, which includes an immediate investment of $15 billion and an additional $35 billion investment upon meeting certain conditions.

This deal builds on a $38 billion cloud computing agreement the two companies reached last year. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos currently serves as executive chairman, and he and Altman are personal friends—Altman attended Bezos's wedding in Italy last year.

The film, written by former Saturday Night Live writer Simon Rich, centers on the chaotic period in 2023 when OpenAI's board fired Altman and then rehired him days later. According to insiders who have seen the film, Altman and Musk are portrayed as the least sympathetic characters—figures the audience would be least inclined to root for.

Puck News first reported Amazon's exit. The outlet previously reported that Warner Bros. and Paramount rejected the script over concerns that Rich's screenplay was "bland," but sources familiar with the project say this assessment was a deliberately planted narrative designed to distract from the film's portrayal of the billionaires depicted.

"Artificial Intelligence" has assembled an impressive cast: Monica Barbaro plays former OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati, Yura Borisov plays former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, and the ensemble also includes Mark Rylance, Cooper Hoffman, Jason Schwartzman, Billie Lourd, and Chris O'Dowd. Guadagnino wrapped filming last fall, and according to Variety, the film has already undergone several test screenings with "very positive" responses. The film had a screening for other production companies on Thursday.

CAA, which represents multiple cast members including Billie Lourd (daughter of CAA president Bryan Lourd), is shopping for new distributors. The film is reportedly asking $50 million, the same amount Amazon just committed to investing in Altman's company.