Elon Musk has announced that his AI platform Grok Imagine will create a 'historically accurate' full-length movie adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey, following the success of Christopher Nolan's blockbuster film which Musk has repeatedly criticized for its casting choices.
In a post on X, Musk stated: 'Before this year ends, Grok Imagine will make a full-length movie of The Odyssey that is historically accurate and true to the art of Homer.' He also shared a link to a three-minute clip generated by Grok Imagine, depicting a scene between Odysseus and the nymph Calypso.
Musk's Criticism of Nolan's Casting
Musk has been attempting to stoke a culture war around Nolan's film, which stars Matt Damon as Odysseus and Anne Hathaway as Penelope. Released on Friday to near-universal acclaim, the film achieved impressive box office results. Before the release, Musk reposted abusive messages targeting Nolan's casting of Black actor Lupita Nyong'o as Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, and trans actor Elliot Page as Sinon, adding that '[Nolan] wants the awards' and that '[he] has lost his integrity.'
Box Office and Audience Reception
Musk's efforts appear to have had little effect, with The Odyssey grossing $264 million (£196 million, A$378 million) globally in its opening weekend and earning a 97% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In May, Nyong'o responded to rightwing critics, stating: 'Our cast is representative of the world. I'm not spending my time thinking of a defence. The criticism will exist whether I engage with it or not.' More recently, Nolan said the backlash 'comes with the territory,' adding: 'These conversations that happen before people see the film – they're always irrelevant, because no one having them knows what the film actually is yet.'
Nolan on AI in Filmmaking
Nolan also dismissed the likely impact of artificial intelligence on filmmaking, saying: 'The idea that it replaces human beings wholesale and human creativity, to me it's a nonsense.' He added: 'I've never seen a technology that's been so successfully adopted by Wall Street and by investors and by tech companies that the public has so thoroughly rejected.'
