Nem Perez Wins $100,000 in Elon Musk's Grok AI Odyssey Contest with Five-Minute Film
Elon Musk, the richest person in the world, has voiced his disapproval of Christopher Nolan’s film adaptation of The Odyssey. He criticized the casting of Lupita Nyong'o as Helen of Troy and Elliot Page as a Greek warrior, claiming that Nolan "desecrated Homer" in a bid to conform to Oscar-winning standards. To counter this, Musk revealed plans for his AI model, Grok, to produce a "historically accurate" version of the epic by the end of the year. He also launched a competition for AI-generated adaptations with a $100,000 prize. The winner, Nem Perez, showcased his five-minute film on August 31, 2026, but it contained glaring mistakes, like a three-eyed Cyclops. Meanwhile, Will Norman created a parody character named "Christopher Notlan" after making his own version on iMacs.
Key facts
- Elon Musk criticized Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey for casting Lupita Nyong'o as Helen of Troy and Elliot Page as a Greek soldier.
- Musk vowed his AI model Grok would make a 'historically accurate' Odyssey before the year's end.
- Musk held a contest for an AI Odyssey using Grok with a $100,000 grand prize.
- Nem Perez won the contest and released his five-minute film on August 31, 2026.
- Perez focused on the Phaeacians and Princess Nausicaa, omitted from Nolan's film.
- The film features errors: Polyphemus has three eyes and shifts size, men have feet for hands, and dialogue is wooden.
- Perez's short is not the full-length feature Musk promised.
- Will Norman created a parody character 'Christopher Notlan' after shooting his Odyssey on iMacs.
Entities
Artists
- Elon Musk
- Christopher Nolan
- Lupita Nyong'o
- Elliot Page
- Nem Perez
- Will Norman
- Homer
- Mel Gibson
- Tom Holland
- Ben Shapiro
- Dave Rubin
- Matt Walsh
- Robert Pattinson
- Tom Holland (historian)
- Anne Hathaway
- Mia Goth
Institutions
- Grok
- Futurism
- PetaPixel
- Forbes
- Grok Imagine
- X
- Universal Studios
- RFI
Locations
- Paris
- France