NFL star Travis Kelce is going Hollywood by signing on as producer for a new film, “My Dead Friend Zoe.” The project is notable because it’s the first movie to take advantage of President Joe Biden’s renewable energy tax credits for financing, per Variety.
The outlet noted that the indie comedy cost less than $10 million to make. “My Dead Friend Zoe” follows a female Afghanistan veteran who confronts her grandfather, a Vietnam veteran, at the family lake house. The movie premieres March 9 at SXSW. It stars Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales, Ed Harris, and Morgan Freeman.
The movie used funds generated by green energy entrepreneur Mike Field’s sale of surplus tax credits, Variety noted, in the first example of the film industry utilizing Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act for film financing. Field is listed as another producer of the dark comedy.
“Hollywood is risky, right? On a scale of one to 10, Hollywood, it is a 9.5. Especially in terms of independent film,” one of the movie’s producers Ray 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,” he continued. “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.”
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Kelce, Maiello, and Field are again using these funds to finance the upcoming documentary “King Pleasure,” which is about renowned artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.
The Kansas City Chiefs tight end is fresh off a big Super Bowl win on Sunday and has indicated he’ll return next season. But he’s not the first professional football player to branch out into other arenas. Variety noted how Tom Brady played himself in the comedy “80 for Brady” and was a producer on the film.
The Paramount Pictures movie grossed $40 million worldwide against a $28 million budget despite receiving mixed reviews from critics.