Elon Musk's Grok to produce AI 'Odyssey' film, but clip shows earplugs and broken oars
Musk's AI film already riddled with errors: rowers not rowing, orange foam earplugs in ancient Greece.
Elon Musk declared that Grok Imagine will produce a full-length AI movie of Homer's The Odyssey by year's end, promising 'historical accuracy.' But the three-minute clip he shared reveals the flaws typical of generative video: Odysseus sports orange foam earplugs, background rowers fail to hold oars or touch water, and dialogue is eerily stilted. The pivot came minutes after Musk entertained funding a $100 million Mel Gibson-directed adaptation, showing his preference for cheap AI shortcuts over actual filmmaking.
This is not Musk's first venture into AI-generated media — his history includes sharing videos of scantily clad anime women and AI girlfriends. The aesthetic he promotes is glossy yet tacky, a stark contrast to Christopher Nolan's practical-effects-driven The Odyssey, which grossed $300 million globally. Musk and his followers have criticized Nolan's film for casting non-white actors and a trans person, calling it 'woke.' The billionaire's obsession with using AI to 'fix' art reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of storytelling — and a reliance on technology that still can't render basic human motion.
- Musk's Grok Imagine aims to produce a full-length AI movie of The Odyssey, but the preview includes errors like orange foam earplugs and rowers whose hands don't touch oars.
- Musk initially considered funding a $100M Mel Gibson adaptation before pivoting to the cheaper Grok-generated version in under 10 minutes.
- The announcement follows Musk's attacks on Christopher Nolan's live-action adaptation, which earned $300M at the box office, over its diverse casting.
Why It Matters
Highlights ongoing clash between AI-generated 'slop' and human artistry, with Musk's resources enabling low-quality shortcuts.