Film Bond Intl. open for business

New company targets Gotham indie scene

By MONICA ROMAN

NEW YORK -- Film Bond Intl., which its principals claim is the first completion bond company serving the motion picture industry to be based in Gotham, has opened its doors for business.

The chairman-CEO of Film Bond is Anthony Rhulen, a former executive with Frontier Insurance Group. Joshua Kyle, most recently an exec at Merrill Lynch's private client group, is the company's new president.

Frontier Insurance Co., a member of the Frontier Insurance Group, will issue the guarantees for Film Bond. Frontier is a New York Stock Exchange-traded company with more than $2 billion in assets.

Headquartered in lower Manhattan's financial district, Film Bond Intl. is targeting the independent film community in Gotham. To help establish a presence among up-and-coming directors, the company will be co-hosting a party at the Sundance Film Festival later this month with the United Talent Agency.

"There are only a handful of companies in the completion bond business and none of them have a physical presence here," said Rhulen. "We want the community to think of us as their ally. In particular, independent filmmakers should keep in mind that securing a completion bond is very often an important key to getting a film financed."

Banks typically require producers to have a film completion bond in place before they will extend financing for a project. The bond guarantees that the film will be completed on time and on budget. If it isn't, the financier still is repaid the amount that was expended on the project, up to a certain limit.

Although it is based in New York, Film Bond plans to serve filmmakers around the world. The company is in the process of opening a Los Angeles office.