CNBC Television Sep 22, 2026
With Tom Rogers, Executive Chairman of Fountain 0
Fountain 0's AI-generated film Odysseus: The Fall was made by one person working at night on a computer, for just under $25,000, Tom Rogers said.
Christopher Nolan's version of the same story, The Odyssey, cost $250 million, and Rogers said the gap is the point: once a film costs almost nothing to make, the studios' control of financing stops mattering.
"You could make 10,000 versions of our film for that number."
Tom Rogers, executive chairman of Fountain 0, founded CNBC while he ran NBC Cable and is now a CNBC contributor and senior advisor to CNBC's parent company, Versant. He spoke to CNBC's Fast Money about the studio's second full-length AI film.
The full segment is covered here so you can skip it.
Here are the 5 takeaways that matter.
Key Takeaways
One person made a feature-length AI film for under $25,000, at night, on one computer
Rogers set it against the $250 million Nolan's version cost
The product is software, not films: two-person writer-director teams can make a film with no crew and no actors
Well-known people will be paid to license their faces and voices to AI films
Studios lose their main advantage when production gets cheap, because that advantage is paying for films
Online reviews are split, and Rogers wants the film judged as a technology milestone
1. An Odyssey for $25,000
The host said clips of the film looked real enough that ordinary viewers might not know it was AI-generated, and asked what the project had shown about how AI will change the film industry.
Rogers said the studio's first film, Dreams of Violets, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Odysseus: The Fall is its second, a retelling of Homer's Odyssey.
One person made the whole film
He said it was made by "one guy with his computer working at night, for just under $25,000."
He conceded that viewers may not like it as much as Nolan's version of the same story.
"When you look at this, you're looking at the future of filmmaking" — Tom Rogers
Nolan's version cost 10,000 times as much
Asked for the cost comparison, he said Nolan's The Odyssey cost $250 million.
"You could make 10,000 versions of our film for that number." — Tom Rogers
