Joe Biden’s renewable energy tax credits are being used to finance the film “My Dead Friend Zoe,” which will be the first movie Kansas City Chiefs Tight End Travis Kelce produces.
The Indie movie will star Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales, Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman, according to Variety. It will mark Kelce’s first movie project. The tight end, famously making headlines as Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, is credited as the film’s executive producer in what’s being described as a dark comedy, according to Variety.
FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY – NOVEMBER 05: Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs reacts prior to the NFL match between Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs at Deutsche Bank Park on November 05, 2023 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
Money from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act is being used to finance the film, specifically, money generated by green energy entrepreneur Mike Field’s sale of surplus tax credits. The film will reportedly cost less than $10 million to produce, according to Variety. Field is also credited as a producer on the film, along with Ray Maiello, former head of business affairs at Netflix.
“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, according to Variety. “These federal tax credits take the risk down to like a five.”
The Inflation Reduction Act passed in August 2022 and marks “the single largest investment in climate and energy in American history,” according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s website.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – JANUARY 28: Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs (L) celebrates with Taylor Swift after defeating the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game at M&T Bank Stadium on January 28, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Kelce, Maiello and Field are reportedly also moving forward to produce a second film, the Jean-Michel Basquiat documentary “King Pleasure,” by using the same funding strategy.
“[Field] and I wanted to branch out and we’ve been talking about [expanding] for years. And then Biden really incentivized it,” Maiello said. “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.”
“My Dead Friend Zoe” will be directed by Kyle Hausmann-Stokes. (RELATED: Taylor Swift Lands A Kiss On Travis Kelce In Front Of The Cameras)
The movie tells the tale of an Afghanistan veteran who confronts her Vietnam vet grandfather by the family’s ancestral lake. The movie will make its world premiere March 9 at SXSW. The film will be produced by Legion M and sold by CAA, according to Variety.