As Ike Barinholtz prepares to portray Elon Musk in the upcoming feature “Artificial,” he said he doesn’t plan on reaching out to the billionaire and former Donald Trump ally for preparation.
“I’m OK,” Barinholtz told Variety’s Marc Malkin on the Emmys red carpet. “He’s famous enough that you get it.”
When asked if he was nervous about portraying a public figure with a controversial platform, he jokingly said, “All I hope is that if he puts me into a gulag, it’s one with all of my friends. That way we can have a party.”
Helmed by Luca Guadagnino, the forthcoming film will also star Andrew Garfield and Yura Borisov. It has been described as a “comedic drama set in the world of artificial intelligence.”
Barinholtz also revealed his excitement to be collaborating with Guadagnino on the project. “Luca Guadagnino is a real genius and brings stuff out of people,” he said. “Any trepidation I had going into it was instantly assuaged by that genius.”
Although plot details are being kept under wraps, earlier reports suggested that “Artificial” centers on the company OpenAI and the tumultuous period in 2023 when its CEO, Sam Altman, was fired and rehired in just a few days.
Garfield has been reported to portray Altman, while Borisov is reportedly playing Iya Stuskever, an OpenAI co-founder who led the movement to get rid of Altman. Other stars who have joined the cast include Monica Barbaro, Jason Schwartzman, Cooper Hoffman and Cooper Koch.
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Simon Rich wrote the script and will produce alongside Heyday Films’ David Heyman and Jeffrey Clifford as well as Jennifer Fox. The film will come from Amazon MGM.
Barinholtz received an Emmy nomination for his role as Sal Saperstein in “The Studio.” The Apple TV+ comedy has shattered Emmy records after receiving 23 nominations, which is the most ever for a comedy series in its first season. It also tied the record set by “The Bear” last year as the most-nominated comedy series ever.
From Variety US