Andrew Garfield’s Artificial has received a new update ahead of its upcoming festival premiere. Directed by Luca Guadagnino, the film stars Garfield as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. It explores the events surrounding his dramatic 2023 exit from the company.
The film is set to have its world premiere at the New York Film Festival on October 5, 2026. NYFF’s website has now revealed that Artificial has a 140-minute runtime, making the upcoming drama considerably longer than expected.
NYFF’s website described the film as “a drama of immense moral urgency” that spans two decades of machine-learning research. The story follows the development of the technology before reaching the modern AI boom and the major events surrounding OpenAI.
Andrew Garfield takes on one of his most unexpected roles in Artificial
Andrew Garfield plays Sam Altman in Guadagnino’s upcoming drama about the rise of artificial intelligence while focusing on the people behind its rapid growth.
In an interview with Esquire UK, Garfield opened up about his role and mentioned that his portrayal of Altman is not based on his personal experience. He said, “I don’t know Sam Altman. I’ve never met him. I was going off of the script and court transcripts and interviews and research.” He added that portraying someone responsible for important technology that could have a major impact on humanity requires the ability to distance yourself from it.
The cast also includes Yura Borisov, Monica Barbaro, Ike Barinholtz, Cooper Hoffman, Jason Schwartzman, and Mark Rylance. Borisov plays Ilya Sutskever, who was involved in Altman’s removal from OpenAI. Meanwhile, Barinholtz takes on the role of Elon Musk.
The film’s 140-minute runtime suggests Guadagnino is taking his time with the story. At two hours and 20 minutes, Artificial has enough room to explore more than just the events that unfolded at OpenAI in 2023.
Guadagnino directs the film from a screenplay by Simon Rich. Artificial was originally developed at Amazon MGM before being dropped and later acquired by Neon. The New York Film Festival premiere will mark the first major opportunity for audiences to see Garfield as Altman.
