Amazon MGM Studios has cancelled the film Artificial, a project directed by Luca Guadagnino that was reportedly set to depict Sam Altman in an unflattering light. This move comes as Google DeepMind announces a $75 million partnership with indie studio A24 to develop AI tools. Meanwhile, electricians and software engineers are organising against data centre construction, and Meta has paused an employee tracking programme following a major internal data leak. Anthropic is also facing pressure from the US government after CEO Dario Amodei stepped down.
Amazon drops the Sam Altman movie
Amazon MGM Studios pulled the plug on Artificial just as production wrapped. The film, which cost around $40 million to make, was intended to chronicle the 2023 events known as The Blip. That was the period when OpenAI’s board fired Sam Altman before rehiring him after staff revolted. Andrew Garfield was cast as Altman and Monica Barbaro as former CTO Mira Murati.
The project faced criticism for portraying Altman poorly. Reports suggest the film depicted him as duplicitous, while casting Ilya Sutskever as a heroic figure. Amazon stated the film would be better served by another studio. Brian Barrett notes this is effectively a way to distance the company from a narrative it finds damaging.
The decision highlights how deeply tech giants are now involved in Hollywood. Amazon owns MGM. The Ellison family is acquiring Paramount. Larry Ellison founded Oracle. These billionaires are increasingly determining which movies get made. Zoë Schiffer points out that Amazon has a $50 billion investment in OpenAI and a $38 billion compute deal. Jeff Bezos also hosted Altman at his wedding last year.
Leah Feiger suggests Amazon is acting to protect its financial interests and public image. OpenAI is sensitive to public opinion as it prepares for a potential IPO. There are already discussions about removing Altman from the company again. Tech firms are trying to control the message as AI becomes more unpopular.
Google DeepMind and A24 team up
Google DeepMind has agreed to invest $75 million in A24. The deal focuses on creating AI tools for specific parts of the film production process. Google DeepMind and A24 mentioned storyboarding and rotoscoping as potential uses. These are labour-intensive tasks that can be automated.
Leah Feiger expressed concern that this signals a shift toward algorithmic content. She noted A24 films often follow a specific, predictable style. She fears this partnership will lead to more content generated by bots.
Zoë Schiffer argues that feature-length films made entirely by AI are unlikely to appear in cinemas soon. She believes such projects would remain gimmicks. She also notes an ick factor in audiences discovering a film was AI-generated without their knowledge. She questions whether current AI can produce quality work for big screens.
Brian Barrett clarifies that the money is not for training models on A24’s catalogue. The deal is for purpose-built tools to support non-AI film creation. Zoë Schiffer adds that A24 would not allow Google access to its intellectual property. Google likely wanted access to the IP but A24 would not grant it.
Workers fight back against data centres
Electricians and software engineers are organising against data centre construction. A group of Amazon workers claims they face investigation for speaking out in favour of regulation. This backlash is growing as national and local opposition to data centres increases.
Meta pauses employee tracking
Meta has paused a system that tracked employee keystrokes and screen activity. The company leaked sensitive data from the programme internally. This incident adds to a series of frustrating events at the firm.
Anthropic and the White House
Talks between Anthropic and the US government appear to be improving. This change coincides with CEO Dario Amodei leaving the company. The Trump White House previously took a hard line against Amodei.
What it means
These stories show a pattern of tech companies managing their public image while integrating AI into their business models. Amazon avoids a damaging movie. Google partners with A24 to automate specific tasks without training its models on the studio’s work. Workers are pushing back against the physical and digital footprint of these companies. Meta stops surveillance after a leak. The relationship between technology, art, and labour is becoming more contentious.
