This three-time Super Bowl winner is ready to champion Hollywood.
Travis Kelce is a producer for the indie film, “My Dead Friend Zoe,” and he’s doing so with the help of President Joe Biden’s renewable energy tax credits, PvNew reported on Tuesday.
The Kansas City Chiefs player, 34, is an executive producer of the dark comedy, which stars Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales, Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman and costs less than $10 million to make.
The war drama, written by Kyle Hausmann-Stokes and A.J. Bermudez, will premiere in March and is based on the former’s short film “Merit x Zoe.”
The project reportedly marks Kelce’s first movie endeavor as well as the industry’s first film to take advantage of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to fund a film.
According to the US Department of Energy, Biden’s legislation is “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.”
Kelce is backing the film with several other heavy-hitters, including green energy entrepreneurs Mike Field and Ray Maiello.
“Hollywood is risky, right? On a scale of one to 10, Hollywood, it is a 9.5. Especially in terms of independent film,” Maiello, who runs California-based Radiant Media Studios with Field, told PvNew. “These federal tax credits take the risk down to like a five.”
Maiello, a former Netflix executive, further explained that Biden’s plan “incentivized” his partners to move forward with the project.
“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,” the film producer said.
Kelce, Maiello and Field are utilizing the same approach to produce a documentary about Jean-Michel Basquiat titled, “King Pleasure.”
It’s no surprise the NFL star is dipping his toes in the world of entertainment. The athlete starred in his own E! reality dating series, “Catching Kelce,” in 2016.
He and his brother, Philadelphia Eagles player Jason Kelce, also host their widely popular “New Heights” podcast.
Travis’ agents have been preparing for his inevitable rise to fame for years — long before his high-profile relationship with Taylor Swift started making headlines in September 2023.
The tight end will likely be able to get some business tips from Swift, though, who has produced several of her own films including 2023’s “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” movie, which became the highest-grossing concert film of all time.
