National Football League (NFL) star Travis Kelce, whose relationship with singer Taylor Swift has constantly made headlines, recently decided to enter Hollywood by signing as a producer for a new film created using President Joe Biden’s renewable energy tax credits.
Variety pointed out that the film, “My Dead Friend Zoe,” cost less than $10 million to create. The movie tells the story of a female Afghanistan veteran who confronts her grandfather, a Vietnam veteran, at the family lake house, according to the Daily Wire.
The film is set to be released in theaters on March 9, 2024, starring prominent actors, such as Morgan Freeman, Natalie Morales, Ed Harris and Sonequa Martin-Green.
Variety reported that the movie used funds generated by climate entrepreneur Mike Field’s selling of surplus tax credits that were green-lighted by the Biden administration. In 2022, the president signed the Inflation Reduction Act, which films use for financing purposes.
Travis Kelce's indie film is being paid for by Green Energy subsidies from the Inflation Reduction Act. No, this isn't satire.
Chill out taxpayers! How else was an NFL Star who dates Taylor Swift supposed to come up with the money? https://t.co/KwXSPIjTrC— Nobody Special (@JG_Nuke) February 13, 2024
The producer of “My Dead Friend Zoe,” Ray Maiello, said using the tax credits makes filming easier.
“Hollywood is risky, right? On a scale of one to 10, Hollywood, it is a 9.5. Especially in terms of independent film,” Maiello said. “These federal tax credits take the risk down to like a five.”
“[Field] and I wanted to branch out and we’ve been talking about [expanding] for years. And then Biden really incentivized it,” Maiello added. “Biden saw that people can’t plan what their tax liabilities are going to be. People don’t want to take risks. And so he really opened it up with these federal tax credits and we’re combining that with Hollywood. That’s the idea.”
Kelce, Field and Maiello will use the tax credits to finance the upcoming documentary “King Pleasure,” based on singer Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Kelce’s entrance into Hollywood comes after his NFL team, the Kansas City Chiefs, defeated the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl.
Like Kelce, retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady also entered the Hollywood arena. In the film “80 for Brady,” he played himself and served as a producer.
Brady’s film garnered $40 million worldwide against a $28 million budget despite receiving mixed reviews from critics.
