Luca Guadagnino is a busy man. Some might say too busy! But that hasn’t stopped him from entering talks to direct a new film about OpenAI, one of the world’s leading AI companies. Titled Artificial, the film will revolve around a behind-the-scenes corporate drama that took place in 2023.

That might not sound quite as exciting as Bones and All’s cannibal love story, or as dynamic as the high-stakes tennis match that rounds out Challengers, but don’t be too quick to cast judgment. When OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was fired and rehired over the course of just a few days in November 2023, millions of viewers were glued (via Twitter) to the spectacle, which played out against the backdrop of existential AI risk.

Artificial will frame this chaos as a comedic drama, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Written by novelist and screenwriter Simon Rich, it’s apparently been fast-tracked by Amazon MGM Studios, and is set to begin shooting in San Francisco (where OpenAI is headquartered) and Italy this summer.

No final deals have been signed yet, but alongside Guadagnino the project is rumoured to include Andrew Garfield, A Complete Unknown’s Monica Barbaro, and Yura Borisov (who put in a standout performance as a tender-hearted thug in Anora). If all goes to plan, Garfield will play Altman, Barbaro will play CTO and very brief stand-in CEO Mira Murati, and Borisov will play the OpenAI co-founder and Altman ouster Ilya Sutskever.

ICYMI, Sutskever was an instrumental part of Altman’s removal as CEO by the OpenAI board in 2023. The so-called “coup” was sparked by disagreements over the safe development of AI, the splitting of OpenAI into “tribes” based on its transition from a non-profit into a profit-making company, and personal doubts about Altman’s honesty and allegedly abusive behaviour. In response to the surprise firing, over 700 employees threatened to walk out in an open letter that was, confusingly, signed by Sutskever and Murati themselves. In the end, Altman was reinstated and remains OpenAI’s CEO today.