Scott Derrickson: Elon Musk Doesn’t Understand Cinema

Elon Musk promised an AI-made, historically 'faithful' version of The Odyssey and the film world exhaled—or bristled. Short videos and bold claims travel fast when they're attached to a tech mogul who loves controversy.

Musk said his Grok AI would deliver a feature-length Odyssey by year’s end, insisting the result would stick to Homer’s intent. He even shared a three-minute clip produced by a Grok user to illustrate the idea. The announcement read like a dare: can code recreate ancient poetry?

That dare landed squarely in Scott Derrickson’s lap. Derrickson, whose résumé includes Doctor Strange and The Black Phone, fired back on X with unusually sharp language. 'It’s clear Elon Musk has no understanding of cinema, and it seems he hasn’t read a book since he was twenty,' he wrote, adding that Musk’s views on art carried no weight. Ouch. The critique was short and personal. It stung.

Why the heat? Because this episode wasn’t a one-off. Musk has repeatedly taken aim at Christopher Nolan’s new adaptation of The Odyssey, accusing the director of playing to contemporary sensibilities—labels that often get lumped under 'woke'—when casting choices were announced. He singled out Lupita Nyong’o’s casting as Helen of Troy, calling it an affront to the source and suggesting the move was designed to curry favor with awards voters. He went further, targeting Elliot Page and amplifying crude commentary about the actor’s appearance.

These barbs follow a pattern. Musk has previously mocked Barbie for its feminist themes and criticized Disney’s Snow White remake starring Rachel Zegler. He treats cultural moments like product launches: loud, opinionated, and impossible to ignore.

For filmmakers, the bigger question isn't whether a billionaire can stir the pot; it's whether money and machine-made likeness can ever replace the messy, human labor of storytelling.

Despite the noise, the box office tells its own story. Nolan’s Odyssey, led by Matt Damon, has pulled in $264 million worldwide so far—proof that controversy doesn’t always translate to failure. People still show up. They still want spectacle, nuance, human performance.

So where does that leave us? With a billionaire promising synthetic epics, a director defending the craft, and an audience deciding who gets to tell ancient stories in a modern age. Who shapes the adaptation of our myths: algorithms, auteurs, or the viewers in the seats? Your call.