Elon Musk’s crusade against Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” has raised eyebrows in Hollywood after the newly minted trillionaire vowed that before the end of the year, his AI tool Grok “will make a full-length movie of The Odyssey that is historically accurate and true to the art of Homer.” Musk also shared a three-minute clip of an AI-generated scene adapted from the poem, which was manufactured by a user on Grok.
One figure from the film community, “Doctor Strange” and “The Black Phone” director Scott Derrickson, pulled no punches when addressing Musk directly on social media. “Clearly @elonmusk doesn’t know shit about cinema & he stopped reading in his 20s,” Derrickson wrote on Musk’s social media platform, X. “His opinions on art are worthless.”
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The Tesla mogul has railed against Nolan’s “Odyssey” long before it was released due to his perception of certain “woke” casting decisions. In March, Musk wrote that “Chris Nolan is an anti-White racist” for casting Lupita Nyong’o in the role of Helen of Troy, asserting that the director made the decision because “he wants the awards.” Musk said “Chris Nolan has lost his integrity” and called the casting an “insult” to Homer. Musk also took aim at Elliott Page, who plays Sinon in “The Odyssey,” reposting comments that mocked the transgender actor’s masculinity.
“The Odyssey” is not the first film Musk has criticized on X; he similarly mocked “Barbie” for its feminist themes and Disney’s “Snow White” reboot led by Rachel Zegler. The anti-woke backlash to “The Odyssey” didn’t seem to matter. The Matt Damon-starring epic opened to $264 million worldwide and continues to sell out screenings months in advance.