Matthew Helderman
Matthew Helderman | |
|---|---|
 Helderman in 2025 | |
| Born | Matthew Helderman 1987 (age 38–39) Fairfield, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Lake Forest College |
| Occupations | |
| Organizations | BondIt Media Capital Buffalo 8 |
| Known for | BondIt Media Capital Buffalo 8 ABS Payroll |
| Notable work | Terrifier 3 Woman of the Hour Rodney King Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street Clerks III Loving Vincent The Fallout |
Matthew Helderman (born 1987) is an American film producer known for 3022, The Pale Door, Cosmic Sin, Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street and Redemption Day.[1] He is the founder of Buffalo 8 and BondIt Media Capital.[2]
Early life and education
[edit]Helderman was born in 1987 and grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut.[3] Helderman attended The Gunnery (now The Frederick Gunn School) in Washington, Connecticut, before later attending Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Illinois, where he studied philosophy and English and played collegiate ice hockey.[4][5][6] While at the college, he wrote undergraduate theses on the films of Wes Anderson and Woody Allen, the latter examining Allen's work through the lens of modern philosophy.[3][7] He graduated in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts.[8]
Between his junior and senior years, Helderman wrote, directed and co-produced his first feature film, The Alumni Chapter, a low-budget ensemble drama about recent college graduates struggling to find work during the Great Recession. He financed the project partly by selling a large portion of his personal DVD collection and by pitching the script to film societies and small production companies.[9][7] Shot on the Lake Forest College campus, the film premiered at the Portage Theater in Chicago in February 2011.[3][9]
Career
[edit]Buffalo 8
[edit]Helderman founded Buffalo 8 Productions in 2010, while still an undergraduate, initially as a vehicle to produce The Alumni Chapter. After graduating in 2011, he relocated the company to the Los Angeles area and, with co-founder Luke Taylor expanded it into an independent media studio.[9][10]
Buffalo 8 was one of the production entities behind Spike Lee's 2017 Netflix film Rodney King, a filmed version of Roger Guenveur Smith's one-man stage play, on which Helderman served as executive producer.[11][12] In 2019, Helderman uncovered previously unreleased audio and case files related to the Jeffrey Dahmer murder trials.[13] He and Buffalo 8 later worked with director Joe Berlinger on the Conversations With a Killer series, with RadicalMedia overseeing production and Helderman and Buffalo 8 serving as executive producers.[13]
BondIt
[edit]In 2013, Helderman and Taylor co-founded BondIt Media Capital, an independent film and media finance firm.[14]
As CEO of BondIt Media Capital, Helderman has overseen the deployment of hundreds of millions of dollars into film, television, music, and live entertainment projects. Under his leadership, BondIt expanded its institutional financing relationships, including a partial sale to public company Accord Financial and the expansion of the company’s credit facilities through partnerships with private investment firms and hedge fund lenders.
In 2017, Helderman co-managed the acquisition of entertainment payroll company ABS Payroll. He later served as an Executive Director and board member and oversaw the majority sale of the business to Vensure Employer Services, a professional employer organization backed by Stone Point Capital and investment entities associated with Mitt Romney.[15][16]
Helderman expanded BondIt Media Capital and Buffalo 8 into a vertically integrated entertainment finance and media services platform spanning production, financing, payroll, post-production, distribution, and sales representation.
Helderman has written and spoken on independent film finance, media entrepreneurship, and entertainment lending at major conferences around the world including the Cannes Film Festival, YPO, and SXSW.
BondIt's financing credits include the Oscar-nominated animated feature Loving Vincent, Roland Emmerich's Midway, the Netflix drama To the Bone, The Peanut Butter Falcon, Clerks III and the Mel Gibson-led thriller On the Line.[17]
Filmography
[edit]- The Alumni Chapter (2011)[3]
- Big Kill (2019)[18]
- Trauma Center (2019)[19]
- 3022 (2019)[20]
- Becky (2020)[21]
- Indigo Valley (2020)[22]
- Hooking Up (2020)[23]
- The Reckoning (2020)[24]
- The Legion (2020)[25]
- American Siege (2020)[26]
- Seized (2020)[27]
- The Pale Door (2020)[28]
- Givers of Death (2020)[29]
- Cosmic Sin (2021)[30]
- Apex (2021)[31]
- Locked In (2021)[32]
- Midnight in the Switchgrass (2021)[33]
- Out of Death (2021)[34]
- The Dead of Night (2021)[35]
- Cosmic Sin (2021)[36]
- Body Brokers (2021)[37]
- Dual (2021)[38]
- Panama (2021)[39]
- The Commando (2021)[40]
- Ida Red (2021)[41]
- Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street (2021)[42]
- Redemption Day (2021)[43]
- The Fallout (2021)[44]
- Book of Love (2022)[45]
- Conversations with a Killer (2022)[46]
References
[edit]- ^ Bahr, Sarah (July 24, 2020). "The Star of This $70 Million Sci-Fi Film Is a Robot". New York Times.
- ^ Longwell, Todd (May 10, 2023). "BondIt Co-Founders Believe Funding Can Be as Creative as Storytelling".
- ^ a b c d "Student's film to premiere at Portage Theater".
- ^ "Leadership Lessons with Matthew Helderman '07". 26 May 2020.
- ^ "Matt Helderman '11: Buffalo 8 and BondIt".
- ^ "Graduation 2011 List Grows Larger". August 16, 2011.
- ^ a b Reda, Jessica (February 2011). "Lake Forest Filmmaker Explores Post-College Life During the Recession". Better Magazine. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
- ^ "10,000 Hours: Passion, Pride, and 'Production'". Lake Forest College. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
- ^ a b c "Lake Forest College grad debuts film". Daily Herald. February 18, 2011.
- ^ "The Alumni Chapter". Chicago Reader. February 17, 2011.
- ^ Johnson, Ted (7 March 2017). "Spike Lee's 'Rodney King' Starring Roger Guenveur Smith Goes to Netflix". Variety. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
- ^ Rooney, David (28 April 2017). "'Rodney King': TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
- ^ a b Davies, Rachael (August 30, 2022). "Netflix's Conversations with a Killer doc release date and details". Evening Standard.
- ^ Handel, Jonathan (April 11, 2014). "New Service Launches to Pay Union Bonds". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ McNary, Dave (May 20, 2017). "Cannes: BondIt Invests in ABS Entertainment Payroll and Production Accounting".
- ^ Longwell, Todd (May 10, 2023). "With Payroll Unit, BondIt Builds Extension to Core Business".
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (19 July 2021). "Lionsgate Takes Global Rights To Kevin Smith's 'Clerks III'". Deadline. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
- ^ "Film Review: 'Big Kill'". 19 October 2018.
- ^ "Bruce Willis Thriller 'Open Source' Sells To Vertical Entertainment". 20 February 2020.
- ^ Scheck, Frank (November 22, 2019). "'3022': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ "Matthew Helderman | BFI". BFI. Archived from the original on May 31, 2021.
- ^ "'Harry Potter' Actress Evanna Lynch to Star in Wilderness Story 'Indigo Valley'". 8 November 2017.
- ^ "'Hooking Up': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. 19 March 2020.
- ^ "Neil Marshall Sets Joe Anderson, Steven Waddington, Sean Pertwee To Star With Charlotte Kirk In 'The Reckoning'". 5 August 2019.
- ^ "'The Legion': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. 7 May 2020.
- ^ "Bruce Willis Starring In Action Pic 'American Siege' For Arcana Studio, BondIt Media Capital". 18 November 2020.
- ^ Kay, Jeremy. "Scott Adkins action thriller 'Seized' starts production (exclusive)". Screen.
- ^ Scheck, Frank (August 20, 2020). "'The Pale Door': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ "Cannes Deals For 'Givers Of Death' And 'Last Of The Grads'; Bill Nighy's 'Buckley's Chance' Gets U.S. Deal; GLAAD List Submissions Open; Topic Takes 'Los Últimos Frikis'". 23 July 2021.
- ^ McNary, Dave (March 24, 2020). "Film News Roundup: Frank Grillo, Luke Wilson Join Bruce Willis in Sci-Fi Movie 'Cosmic Sin'". Variety.
- ^ Online, TV Spielfilm. "Apex - Filmkritik - Film - TV SPIELFILM". TV Spielfilm Online.
- ^ "'Locked In' Review: Mena Suvari Headlines a Chintzy and Generic Heist Thriller". 5 May 2021.
- ^ "Emile Hirsch To EP & Star In Cancel Culture Drama 'My Time's Up' From Filmmaker Michael A. MacRae". 11 May 2022.
- ^ "Bruce Willis Action Thriller 'Reactor' Goes to Saban in North America, U.K." 26 June 2020.
- ^ "Shout! Studios Releasing Upcoming Horror Flick THE DEAD OF NIGHT Starring LANCE HENRIKSEN". 28 January 2021.
- ^ "'Cosmic Sin': Frank Grillo, Luke Wilson & Adelaide Kane". 23 March 2020.
- ^ "'Body Brokers' Review: Drug Abuse Is Big Business for More Than Just the Dealers". 20 February 2021.
- ^ "'Dual' Review: Downer Dark Comedy Imagines the Pros and Cons of Being Cloned". 23 January 2022.
- ^ "'Panama' Review: Crosses are Doubled and Tripled in a Pedestrian, Mel Gibson-Starring Political Thriller". 17 March 2022.
- ^ Kay, Jeremy. "Randy Couture heist thriller 'Blowback' wraps for PEG ahead of Cannes sales launch (exclusive)". Screen.
- ^ "'Ida Red': Frank Grillo, Melissa Leo & Josh Hartnett Lead Cast In Action-Thriller Shot During The Pandemic". 26 August 2020.
- ^ "Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street | Watch the Movie on HBO | HBO.com". HBO.
- ^ Scheck, Frank (January 6, 2021). "'Redemption Day': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ "'Helen's Dead': Annabelle Dexter-Jones, Emile Hirsch, Dylan Gelula, Oliver Cooper & Tyrese Gibson Board Murder Mystery Pic From Newly Formed Stoked Film Group". 20 December 2021.
- ^ "'Book of Love' Review: An Imperfect Yet Lovable Rom-Com of Modest Pleasures". Variety. 4 February 2022.
- ^ Maas, Jennifer (August 29, 2022). "Netflix's 'Conversations With a Killer' Season 3 'The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes' to Debut in October (EXCLUSIVE)".