“Jeff Kalligheri (I Wanna Dance with Somebody) and Denis O’Sullivan (Bohemian Rhapsody) will produce the feature and the documentary, with Emmy-award winning Steven Garcia serving as executive producer on both projects,” Kearney continued. “It’s gonna be epic.”
Breaking news: We now have an official press release about the upcoming Turtleboy documentary and movie, both being produced and financed by Compelling Pictures. Jeff Kalligheri (I Wanna Dance with Somebody) and Denis O’Sullivan (Bohemian Rhapsody) will produce the feature and… pic.twitter.com/vCi74qzZtw
— Aidan Kearney (@DoctorTurtleboy) January 20, 2026
Compelling Pictures didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday, although the company posted a Deadline story about the news to its Instagram page.
“My cousin Brian was John O’Keefe’s friend and former partner in the Boston Police Force,” Kalligheri told Deadline. “Having followed the case since soon after the tragic incident took place, our aim is to shine a light until the entire truth is shown. Aidan’s perspective on this American tragedy as a citizen and journalist allows the unique opportunity to see it from all angles. We are eager for the audience to follow that through-line to wherever the still emerging facts lead.”
Kearney championed Read’s innocence as she twice stood trial for murder in the 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police Officer John O’Keefe.
Prosecutors said she backed her SUV into O’Keefe in a drunken rage after dropping him off outside a Canton home following a night of bar-hopping.
Her lawyers said she was framed and that O’Keefe entered the property, owned at the time by a fellow Boston police officer, where he was fatally beaten and possibly mauled by a German Shepherd before his body was planted on the front lawn.
Read’s first trial ended in a hung jury in July 2024, and she was acquitted of murdering O’Keefe June at her retrial in June, with jurors finding her guilty only of misdemeanor OUI, for which she received a year’s probation.
Kearney, meanwhile, is facing separate criminal charges for allegedly harassing witnesses in the case, although some of the counts have been dropped.
He and his lawyers have said all his actions were legitimate acts of reporting and advocacy protected by the First Amendment.
Multiple film and TV projects focused on Read have either aired or are in the pipeline.
Material from prior Globe stories was used in this report.
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.