Travis Kelce is now venturing into Hollywood with his debut film using The US government’s renewable energy tax credits to pioneer financing strategies in the indie film sector.
The American football tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs is reportedly using new renewable energy tax credits to finance the film My Dead Friend Zoe, an upcoming war comedy-drama film written by Kyle Hausmann-Stokes and A. J. Bermudez, starring Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, Gloria Reuben, and Utkarsh Ambudkar.
Highlights
- Travis Kelce enters Hollywood, financing a film via renewable energy tax credits.
- Travis is a producer for the upcoming indie film, My Dead Friend Zoe.
- The film's financing method could mitigate investment risk for indie productions.
- Travis' new eco-friendly project contrasts with his girlfriend Taylor Swift's constant private jet use.
Travis will be serving as an executive producer alongside Paul Scanlan, an American businessman and the co-founder and CEO of Legion M, a fan-owned entertainment company.
The investors in the low-budget dark comedy, which include Travis, are the first to take advantage of 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act to finance a film. Moreover, My Dead Friend Zoe cost less than $10 million, Variety reported.
According to the US Department of Energy: “The President’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 makes the single largest investment in climate and energy in American history, enabling America to tackle the climate crisis, advancing environmental justice, securing America’s position as a world leader in domestic clean energy manufacturing, and putting the United States on a pathway to achieving the Biden-Harris Administration’s climate goals, including a net-zero economy by 2050.”
Consequently, the IRA allocates around $11.7 billion to the Loan Programs Office (LPO), a program encompassing loans and loan guarantees available to help deploy innovative clean energy, advanced transportation, and tribal energy projects in the United States. This allocation significantly bolsters its loan authority by roughly $100 billion.
Travis Kelce is venturing into Hollywood with his debut film using The US government’s renewable energy tax credits
Image credits: David Eulitt/Getty Images
Moreover, the IRA also introduced the Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment Program to revitalize energy infrastructure, which aims at rejuvenating energy infrastructure that has ceased operations or enhancing the efficiency of existing infrastructure.
The My Dead Friend Zoe movie has reportedly used money generated by green energy entrepreneur Mike Field’s sale of surplus tax credits. Mike is also a producer on the film.
Ray Maiello, one of the movie producers, emphasized the inherent risks involved in show-biz, particularly in the realm of independent filmmaking, where budgets are often limited and success is not guaranteed.
“Hollywood is risky, right? On a scale of 1 to 10, Hollywood, it is a 9.5. Especially in terms of independent film,” Ray, who runs California-based Radiant Media Studios with Field and is the former head of business affairs at Netflix, told Variety.
The producer suggested that utilizing federal tax credits significantly mitigates the risks, bringing it down to a much more manageable level. “These federal tax credits take the risk down to like a 5,” Ray added.
Travis is using the US 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act to finance the film My Dead Friend Zoe
Image credits: SXSW
Travis, Ray, and Mike are using the same strategy to finance a second film, the Jean-Michel Basquiat documentary King Pleasure as per Variety.
The Boardwalk Pictures film is reportedly being helmed by Quinn Wilson, the former creative director for Lizzo, and is being made with the cooperation of the late artist’s estate.
Travis, along with the other producers, could spark a trend in Hollywood of employing the IRA as a way to raise funds and bolster the flagging indie film sector, Variety reported.
This trend has already been established outside of Hollywood, where similar deals are common and have resulted in a market worth between $7 billion and $9 billion.
Movie producer Ray explained: “[Mike] 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.”
You can read the US Department of Energy's explainer below:
Image credits: Energy.gov
My Dead Friend Zoe follows a female Afghanistan veteran, played by Natalie Morales, who comes head-to-head with her Vietnam vet grandfather, played by Ed Harris, at the family’s ancestral lake house.
The film, which will make its world premiere at SXSW (South by Southwest Festival) in Austin, Texas, on March 9, is being sold by Creative Artists Agency (CAA), an American talent and sports agency based in Los Angeles, California, which also represents Travis.
Although Travis has already indicated that he will be returning for the 2024-25 NFL season with the Chiefs, the 34-year-old athlete is also starting to establish a presence in Hollywood, a move comparable to NFL star Tom Brady, who recently played himself in the hit comedy 80 for Brady and has been producing as well.
Travis' eco-friendly move stands in contrast to his girlfriend, Taylor Swift, who has faced criticism for her frequent use of her private jets, showcasing different approaches to their public image and environmental impact.
The 34-year-old pop star took a 12-hour, 5,000-mile flight last weekend from Tokyo, Japan, to Las Vegas, Nevada, to watch the Chiefs win the Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers.
While gearing up for the 2024-25 NFL season, Travis' strides in Hollywood echo Tom Brady's move into acting and production
Image credits: Saturday Night Live
The travel marked the songstress’ latest private jet flight, a travel habit that has gained criticism due to the jet's inevitable release of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, the BBC reported.
Taylor allegedly produced 138 tons of CO2 emissions in three months while commuting to visit her beau. Leah Thomas, author of The Intersectional Environmentalist, told BBC Travel: "Swift's carbon emissions are extreme and are polluting the atmosphere.
"Carbon emissions are one of the leading causes of the climate crisis, as carbon in the atmosphere warms the planet, which contributes to extreme weather events."
The Grammy Award winner's carbon footprint was originally exposed by Jack Sweeney, a student who tracks celebrities' private jet usage.
As per the BBC, Jack has been (legally) tracking Taylor's carbon output, as well as that of other celebrities, since flight patterns, even those from celebrity-owned private jets, are public information.
Nevertheless, Taylor's legal team sent Jack a cease and desist letter in December 2023, stating that his "wrongful and dangerous actions must stop" and threatening legal action against the University of Central Florida student.
Travis' new business venture sparked heated debates
