Matthew Helderman

Apr 20, 2026 - 14:40
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Matthew Helderman

← Previous revision Revision as of 09:08, 20 April 2026
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==Early life and education==
==Early life and education==
Helderman was born in 1987 in [[Connecticut]] and raised in [[Fairfield, Connecticut|Fairfield]] in a Jewish family.{{Cite web|url=https://www.lakeforest.edu/news/students-film-to-premiere-at-portage-theater|title=Student's film to premiere at Portage Theater}}{{Cite web|url=https://jewishjournal.com/culture/business/214981/careerup-linking-careers-high-tech-jewish-millennials/|title=CareerUp: Linking careers, high tech and Jewish millennials|first=Eitan|last=Arom|date=October 20, 2016}} He attended [[The Frederick Gunn School]] and later [[Lake Forest College]], where he earned a [[Bachelor of Arts]] in 2011.{{Cite web|url=https://www.frederickgunn.org/about/welcome-from-head-of-school/hosvlog/post/~board/hos-vlog/post/leadership-lessons-with-helderman07|title=Leadership Lessons with Matthew Helderman '07|date=26 May 2020 }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.lakeforest.edu/academics/majors-and-minors/entrepreneurship-and-innovation/news-and-events/matthew-helderman-11-buffalo-8-and-bondit|title=Matt Helderman '11: Buffalo 8 and BondIt}}{{Cite web|url=https://patch.com/connecticut/shelton/graduation-2011-list-grows-larger|title=Graduation 2011 List Grows Larger|date=August 16, 2011}}
Helderman was born in 1987 and grew up in [[Fairfield, Connecticut]] in a Jewish family.{{Cite web|url=https://www.lakeforest.edu/news/students-film-to-premiere-at-portage-theater|title=Student's film to premiere at Portage Theater}}{{Cite web|url=https://jewishjournal.com/culture/business/214981/careerup-linking-careers-high-tech-jewish-millennials/|title=CareerUp: Linking careers, high tech and Jewish millennials|first=Eitan|last=Arom|date=October 20, 2016}} He attended [[Lake Forest College]] in [[Lake Forest, Illinois]], where he majored in philosophy with a minor in English and played on the college's [[Lake Forest Foresters|men's ice hockey]] team.{{Cite web|url=https://www.frederickgunn.org/about/welcome-from-head-of-school/hosvlog/post/~board/hos-vlog/post/leadership-lessons-with-helderman07|title=Leadership Lessons with Matthew Helderman '07|date=26 May 2020 }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.lakeforest.edu/academics/majors-and-minors/entrepreneurship-and-innovation/news-and-events/matthew-helderman-11-buffalo-8-and-bondit|title=Matt Helderman '11: Buffalo 8 and BondIt}}{{Cite web|url=https://patch.com/connecticut/shelton/graduation-2011-list-grows-larger|title=Graduation 2011 List Grows Larger|date=August 16, 2011}} 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.{{cite magazine |last=Reda |first=Jessica |title=Lake Forest Filmmaker Explores Post-College Life During the Recession |url=https://better.net/arts-events/movies-tv/lake-forest-filmmaker-explores-post-college-life-during-the-recession/ |magazine=Better Magazine |date=February 2011 |access-date=20 April 2026}} He graduated in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts.{{cite web |title=10,000 Hours: Passion, Pride, and 'Production' |url=https://www.lakeforest.edu/news/10000-hours-passion-pride-and-production |publisher=Lake Forest College |access-date=20 April 2026}}

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 in the United States|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. Shot on the Lake Forest College campus, the film premiered at the Portage Theater in Chicago in February 2011.


==Career==
==Career==
===Buffalo 8===
In 2010, while an undergraduate student at Lake Forest College, Helderman founded Buffalo 8 to produce the feature film ''The Alumni Chapter''. After graduating, he relocated the company to [[Beverly Hills, California]].{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110218/entlife/702189810/|title=Lake Forest College grad debuts film|date=February 18, 2011|website=Daily Herald}}{{Cite web|url=http://chicagoreader.com/film/the-alumni-chapter/|title=The Alumni Chapter|date=February 17, 2011|website=Chicago Reader}}
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. name="DailyHerald">{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110218/entlife/702189810/|title=Lake Forest College grad debuts film|date=February 18, 2011|website=Daily Herald}}{{Cite web|url=http://chicagoreader.com/film/the-alumni-chapter/|title=The Alumni Chapter|date=February 17, 2011|website=Chicago Reader}}

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Buffalo 8 was one of the production entities behind [[Spike Lee]]'s 2017 Netflix film ''[[Rodney King (film)|Rodney King]]'', a filmed version of [[Roger Guenveur Smith]]'s one-man stage play, on which Helderman served as executive producer.{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Ted |title=Spike Lee's 'Rodney King' Starring Roger Guenveur Smith Goes to Netflix |url=https://variety.com/2017/film/news/spike-lee-rodney-king-roger-guenveur-smith-netflix-1202003217/ |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=7 March 2017 |access-date=20 April 2026}}{{cite news |last=Rooney |first=David |title='Rodney King': TV Review |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/rodney-king-998623/ |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=28 April 2017 |access-date=20 April 2026}} In 2019, Helderman uncovered previously unreleased audio and case files related to the [[Jeffrey Dahmer]] murder trials.{{Cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/netflix-conversations-with-a-killer-jeffrey-dahmer-doc-release-date-and-details-b1021792.html|title=Netflix's Conversations with a Killer doc release date and details|first=Rachael|last=Davies|date=August 30, 2022|website=Evening Standard}} 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.


===BondIt===
In 2013, Helderman co-founded BondIt Media Capital with Luke Taylor.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/new-service-bondit-launches-pay-695580/|title=New Service Launches to Pay Union Bonds|first1=Jonathan|last1=Handel|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=April 11, 2014}} In 2015, Buffalo 8 Productions acquired Alta Entertainment.{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2015/film/news/buffalo-8-alta-entertainment-1201611025/|title=AFM: Buffalo 8 Acquires Alta Entertainment|first=Dave|last=McNary|date=October 6, 2015}} In 2017, Helderman and Taylor acquired ABS Entertainment Payroll.{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2017/film/news/cannes-bondit-invest-abs-entertainment-payroll-and-production-accounting-1202438163/|title=Cannes: BondIt Invests in ABS Entertainment Payroll and Production Accounting|first1=Dave|last1=McNary|date=May 20, 2017}}{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2023/film/focus/bondit-abs-payroll-1235606525/|title=With Payroll Unit, BondIt Builds Extension to Core Business|first=Todd|last=Longwell|date=May 10, 2023}}
In 2013, Helderman and Taylor co-founded BondIt Media Capital, an independent film and media finance firm.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/new-service-bondit-launches-pay-695580/|title=New Service Launches to Pay Union Bonds|first1=Jonathan|last1=Handel|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=April 11, 2014}} In 2015, Buffalo 8 Productions acquired Alta Entertainment.{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2015/film/news/buffalo-8-alta-entertainment-1201611025/|title=AFM: Buffalo 8 Acquires Alta Entertainment|first=Dave|last=McNary|date=October 6, 2015}} In 2017, Helderman and Taylor acquired ABS Entertainment Payroll.{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2017/film/news/cannes-bondit-invest-abs-entertainment-payroll-and-production-accounting-1202438163/|title=Cannes: BondIt Invests in ABS Entertainment Payroll and Production Accounting|first1=Dave|last1=McNary|date=May 20, 2017}}{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2023/film/focus/bondit-abs-payroll-1235606525/|title=With Payroll Unit, BondIt Builds Extension to Core Business|first=Todd|last=Longwell|date=May 10, 2023}}


BondIt's financing credits include the Oscar-nominated animated feature ''[[Loving Vincent]]'', [[Roland Emmerich]]'s ''[[Midway (2019 film)|Midway]]'', the Netflix drama ''[[To the Bone (film)|To the Bone]]'', ''[[The Peanut Butter Falcon]]'', ''[[Clerks III]]'' and the [[Mel Gibson]]-led thriller ''[[On the Line (2022 film)|On the Line]]''.{{cite news |last=D'Alessandro |first=Anthony |title=Lionsgate Takes Global Rights To Kevin Smith's 'Clerks III' |url=https://deadline.com/2021/07/clerks-iii-kevin-smith-sequel-acquired-by-lionsgate-1234795715/ |work=[[Deadline Hollywood|Deadline]] |date=19 July 2021 |access-date=20 April 2026}}
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In 2019, Helderman uncovered previously unreleased audio and case files related to the [[Jeffrey Dahmer]] murder trials.{{Cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/netflix-conversations-with-a-killer-jeffrey-dahmer-doc-release-date-and-details-b1021792.html|title=Netflix's Conversations with a Killer doc release date and details|first=Rachael|last=Davies|date=August 30, 2022|website=Evening Standard}} 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.


== Filmography ==
== Filmography ==
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