TL/DR –
Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift’s boyfriend and Kansas City Chiefs tight end, is making his Hollywood debut as a film producer with “My Dead Friend Zoe.” The film will be financed using green energy tax credits from the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, a climate change industry funding bill. Notably, this project is the first to utilize these climate benefits for underserved communities and could potentially spark a trend in Hollywood to raise funds and support the indie film sector.
Travis Kelce enters Hollywood with Biden-backed film
Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs tight end and Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, is making his first venture into Hollywood, producing the film “My Dead Friend Zoe”. Funded through tax credits provided by the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, the film is part of the Act’s $739 billion spending plan.
Star-studded cast in a generational film
Featuring Natalie Morales, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, and Sonequa Martin-Green, “My Dead Friend Zoe” is a generational story about two US veterans. Set in a family’s ancestral lake house, the film captures the clash between a young woman who served in Afghanistan and her Vietnam veteran grandfather. The film is set to premiere at SXSW in March.
Utilizing Biden’s climate benefits for film production
With a budget under $10 million, Kelce’s film is the first to leverage the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate benefits. These benefits are designed to “drive the global clean energy economy forward” and provide transformative benefits to working families and disadvantaged communities. The film funding was generated through carbon tax credits sold by co-producer Mike Field.
Hollywood risks mitigated by federal tax credits
Co-producer Ray Maiello emphasized the importance of the federal tax credits in offsetting Hollywood production risks. “These federal tax credits take the risk down to like a five,” said Maiello. Following the production of “My Dead Friend Zoe”, the producing team plans to create a film on the life of famed New York artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, potentially signaling a new trend of employing the Inflation Reduction Act to fund indie films.
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