Elon Musk Could Dominate This Year's Oscars—Between 'Musk' Doc, 'Artificial' And 'Odyssey' Discourse

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Topline

Even though he has called the Oscars “unwatchable,” billionaire Elon Musk could find himself at the center of next year’s Academy Awards ceremony, as a documentary about his life and a film about OpenAI look to be in contention—alongside “The Odyssey,” which Musk has relentlessly criticized.

"Musk," a documentary, and "Artificial," which features an actor playing Musk, are set to hit theaters later this year. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Key Facts

Musk, the wealthiest person in the world, will be portrayed on screen twice this year—once in “Musk,” a documentary by Oscar-winner Alex Gibney, and again in Luca Guadagnino’s “Artificial,” a dramatized account of Sam Altman’s brief ouster at OpenAI that also features a portrayal of Musk in a supporting role.

The distribution companies behind both films have announced plans to campaign for Oscars consideration, including a Best Picture run for “Musk,” which could be the first documentary ever nominated for the top prize.

Musk, meanwhile, has repeatedly slammed the Oscars as “unwatchable” with “pathetic ratings,” and he has amplified misinformation about diversity requirements movies must meet to be considered for awards.

Musk has already made a splash over the next awards season, emerging as a vocal critic of one surefire Oscar contender—“The Odyssey”—and leading an anti-woke contingent that has accused director Christopher Nolan of erasing Greek people by hiring a diverse cast.

Film critics, though, have largely dismissed Musk’s opinion of “The Odyssey” and bestowed it with a near-perfect 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with several critics specifically rebuffing Musk in their reviews.

what to watch for

What critics say about “Musk” and “Artificial,” and whether either movie manages to rack up awards nominations. Awards season kicks off with the Golden Globe nominations on Dec. 7—typically an indicator of Oscars success—followed by the awards presentation on Jan. 10. Oscar nominations will be announced on Jan. 21, followed by the ceremony on March 14.

What Do We Know About The “Artificial” Release?

“Artificial,” directed by “Call Me By Your Name” Oscar nominee Guadagnino, does not yet have a release date, though it recently secured a distributor after Amazon MGM Studios dropped it. Amazon, which announced a $50 billion investment in OpenAI earlier this year, said in June the movie would be “better served if it were released by a different studio.” The decision to drop “Artificial” shocked filmmakers, the New York Times reported, as Amazon had been supportive up to that point and had spent $40 million to produce the movie. Neon, the distributor behind Best Picture winners “Parasite” and “Anora,” secured the rights to “Artificial” weeks later. The movie centers Altman, played by Andrew Garfield, and how he was fired and re-hired as OpenAI’s chief executive within a matter of days in 2023. Musk, who co-founded OpenAI, is played by Ike Barinholtz in a supporting role. Variety reported earlier this month the movie portrays Altman as a “pathological liar” and Musk as a “villain.”

What Do We Know About The “Musk” Documentary?

Not much, aside from a release date: “Musk” will open in theaters on Oct. 16, Variety reported, distributed by Bleecker Street. Variety reported Bleecker Street plans to submit “Musk” for all eligible Oscars categories, including Best Picture, which would be an unprecedented nomination for a documentary. Gibney said in 2023 the film would be a “definitive and unvarnished examination” of Musk and his impact on the world. After the project was announced, Musk said in a post on X that Gibney is “a douche.” Gibney previously won the Oscar for best documentary feature in 2008 for “Taxi to the Dark Side.”

What Has Musk Said About “The Odyssey”?

For months, Musk has attacked “The Odyssey” and Nolan in posts on X, accusing Nolan of being “racist against the Greek people and their cultural heritage” by hiring a diverse cast. He has particularly targeted Lupita Nyong’o, a Black actress cast to play Helen of Troy, and Elliot Page, a transgender actor who plays Sinon, cousin of Odysseus. Musk’s posts about “The Odyssey” have been riddled with misinformation, including claims Page would play Achilles, which is untrue, as well as misrepresentations about diversity standards for Academy Awards consideration. Musk boosted a claim that a movie’s cast must be 30% non-white or non-straight to qualify, though this is just one of several standards that could be met. A critic for the Arizona Republic, Bill Goodykoontz, called Musk’s anti-woke tirade “racist and ugly” and urged him to “see the damn movie,” which he gave five stars.

surprising fact

Musk and Altman won’t be the only billionaires hitting the big screen this year. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be portrayed by Jeremy Strong in “The Social Reckoning,” the sequel to 2010 Oscar nominee “The Social Network.” Whereas the first movie focused on Zuckerberg’s founding of Facebook, the upcoming film covers a series of articles the Wall Street Journal published in 2021 that showed Facebook was aware of harmful effects of its social media platforms, based on documents leaked by whistleblower Frances Haugen.

forbes valuation

Musk is worth $847.9 billion as of Thursday, according to Forbes estimates, making him the wealthiest person in the world. Musk became the world’s first trillionaire last month after taking SpaceX public, though his net worth has since declined as the value of SpaceX shares have dipped. Musk owns 38% of SpaceX and about 11% of Tesla.