Eli Holzman
Encyclopedia
Eli Holzman is a creator–developer, writer
, and producer
best known for creating or serving as Executive Producer on a number of blockbuster reality-based television
series, such as Project Runway
, Project Greenlight
, Beauty and the Geek
, Models of the Runway
, and Undercover Boss
. He is the former head of Miramax Television, Ashton Kutcher
's Katalyst Films, and is currently president of Studio Lambert
in the United States
. He has been nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards for Project Greenlight and Undercover Boss, and twice was nominated for "Television Producer of the Year Award" for reality television by the Producers Guild of America
.
After graduating from The Bronx High School of Science, Eli Holzman began his career at Miramax Films
in early 1996. He initially worked as an assistant to Harvey Weinstein
, on such films as The Mighty
in 1998. However, he soon moved to the film production department. There he worked in a minor capacity on numerous films, including In Too Deep and Rounders
.
Television (1998–2005)
He moved to Los Angeles in 1998 to play a role in founding Miramax's television arm, Miramax Television. While there he served as a production supervisor for a wide variety of projects, covering the full breadth of genres. He developed and produced Project Greenlight
, helping to drive the initial boom in popularity for reality television shows. He was soon promoted to the top executive position at Miramax Television where he helped to create the popular Bravo show Project Runway
.
's production company Katalyst Films. While there he developed and launched the 2005 reality television show Beauty and the Geek
.
reality series Stylista
. Stylista was co-produced with Desiree Gruber, Jane Cha, Tyra Banks
and Ken Mok
. With the independent studio he also served as the executive producer on the first two seasons of the G4
reality series, The Block
. In 2009, he co-created Bravo reality series Work of Art: The Next Great Artist
along with Sarah Jessica Parker
.
's American side of business since it was founded in 2008, and continues to serve as president. He was recruited for the role by reality television executive Stephen Lambert
. Lambert's and Holzman's first collaboration was the reality show Undercover Boss
, which premiered to 38 million viewers after the Super Bowl
. The show also went on to earn an Emmy Awards nomination. In November 2010, Holzman and Lambert published a book entitled Undercover Boss: Inside the TV Phenomenon That Is Changing Bosses and Employees Everywhere.
Holzman has also overseen and launched a variety of other reality shows, including Mel B: It's a Scary World
and Fairy Jobmother for Lifetime
, Southern Fried Stings
for TruTV, and Three in a Bed.
and Safeway
.
Together with his partners, Holzman opened The Meatball Shop restaurant in New York City
.
nominations
Producers Guild of America
Award Nominations
Executive Producer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, and producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
best known for creating or serving as Executive Producer on a number of blockbuster reality-based television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
series, such as Project Runway
Project Runway
Project Runway is an American reality television series on Lifetime Television, previously on the Bravo network, which focuses on fashion design and is hosted by model Heidi Klum. The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted in time, materials and theme...
, Project Greenlight
Project Greenlight
Project Greenlight was a contest and television series focusing on first-time filmmakers being given the chance to direct a feature film. It was created by Alex Keledjian, developed by Eli Holzman and produced by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Sean Bailey, and Chris Moore through their production...
, Beauty and the Geek
Beauty and the Geek
Beauty and the Geek is a reality television series on The CW. It has been advertised as "The Ultimate Social Experiment" and is produced by Ashton Kutcher, Jason Goldberg and Nick Santora....
, Models of the Runway
Models of the Runway
Models of the Runway was a television series on the Lifetime network. It was an off-shoot of Project Runway appearing each week during seasons when Project Runway aired, generally immediately following the broadcast of the latest episode, and following the experiences of the fashion models on...
, and Undercover Boss
Undercover Boss
Undercover Boss is a television franchise series that has been released in multiple countries, originating in 2009 on the British Channel 4...
. He is the former head of Miramax Television, Ashton Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher
Christopher Ashton Kutcher , best known as Ashton Kutcher, is an American actor, producer, former fashion model and comedian, best known for his portrayal of Michael Kelso in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show...
's Katalyst Films, and is currently president of Studio Lambert
Studio Lambert
Studio Lambert is a fast-growing independent television production company based in Los Angeles and London.It specializes in creating and producing entertaining non-scripted programs for the UK, US and international markets. It launched in Soho, London, in March 2008 and six months later opened a...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He has been nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards for Project Greenlight and Undercover Boss, and twice was nominated for "Television Producer of the Year Award" for reality television by the Producers Guild of America
Producers Guild of America
Producers Guild of America is a trade organization representing television producers, film producers and New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 4,700 members of the producing establishment worldwide...
.
Miramax
Film (1996–1998)After graduating from The Bronx High School of Science, Eli Holzman began his career at Miramax Films
Miramax Films
Miramax Films is an American entertainment company known for distributing independent and foreign films. For its first 14 years the company was privately owned by its founders, Bob and Harvey Weinstein...
in early 1996. He initially worked as an assistant to Harvey Weinstein
Harvey Weinstein
Harvey Weinstein, CBE is an American film producer and movie studio chairman. He is best known as co-founder of Miramax Films. He and his brother Bob have been co-chairmen of The Weinstein Company, their film production company, since 2005...
, on such films as The Mighty
The Mighty
The Mighty is a 1998 drama film based on the book Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick.-Plot:Kevin is a 12-year-old boy who suffers Mucopolysaccharidosis IV, or Morquio syndrome. He is extremely intelligent and prone to flights of fancy, but is physically crippled and is forced to walk with crutches...
in 1998. However, he soon moved to the film production department. There he worked in a minor capacity on numerous films, including In Too Deep and Rounders
Rounders
Rounders is a game played between two teams of either gender. The game originated in England where it was played in Tudor times. Rounders is a striking and fielding team game that involves hitting a small, hard, leather-cased ball with a round wooden, plastic or metal bat. The players score by...
.
Television (1998–2005)
He moved to Los Angeles in 1998 to play a role in founding Miramax's television arm, Miramax Television. While there he served as a production supervisor for a wide variety of projects, covering the full breadth of genres. He developed and produced Project Greenlight
Project Greenlight
Project Greenlight was a contest and television series focusing on first-time filmmakers being given the chance to direct a feature film. It was created by Alex Keledjian, developed by Eli Holzman and produced by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Sean Bailey, and Chris Moore through their production...
, helping to drive the initial boom in popularity for reality television shows. He was soon promoted to the top executive position at Miramax Television where he helped to create the popular Bravo show Project Runway
Project Runway
Project Runway is an American reality television series on Lifetime Television, previously on the Bravo network, which focuses on fashion design and is hosted by model Heidi Klum. The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted in time, materials and theme...
.
Kataylst Films
After his departure from Miramax, Holzman was hired in 2005 as president of Ashton KutcherAshton Kutcher
Christopher Ashton Kutcher , best known as Ashton Kutcher, is an American actor, producer, former fashion model and comedian, best known for his portrayal of Michael Kelso in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show...
's production company Katalyst Films. While there he developed and launched the 2005 reality television show Beauty and the Geek
Beauty and the Geek
Beauty and the Geek is a reality television series on The CW. It has been advertised as "The Ultimate Social Experiment" and is produced by Ashton Kutcher, Jason Goldberg and Nick Santora....
.
Development Hell Productions
In 2006, Eli founded the boutique production company Development Hell. While there, he created and/or executive produced such prime-time reality shows as the CWCW
-Arts:* Carl Wheezer, a character in Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius* Creative writing* Cryptic Writings, an album by Megadeth-Companies:* Cable & Wireless, a British telecommunications company* Colonial Williamsburg...
reality series Stylista
Stylista
Stylista was an American fashion-themed reality-television competition series that premiered on the CW network in the United States, and Citytv in Canada on October 22, 2008. The series was produced by Warner Horizon Television and Tyra Banks through her Bankable Productions. The series was not...
. Stylista was co-produced with Desiree Gruber, Jane Cha, Tyra Banks
Tyra Banks
Tyra Lynne Banks is an American model, media personality, actress, occasional singer, author and businesswoman. She first became famous as a model, but television appearances were her commercial breakthrough...
and Ken Mok
Ken Mok
Ken Mok is a television producer, and also the founder and president of 10x10 Entertainment, a production company which produces television, film and alternative media...
. With the independent studio he also served as the executive producer on the first two seasons of the G4
G4
G4, G.IV, G04, G.4 or G-4 may refer to:- Aircraft :* AEG G.IV, a German World War I heavy bomber* Caudron G.4, a 1915 French biplane* Friedrichshafen G.IV, a 1918 German medium bomber* Gotha G.IV, a 1916 German heavy bomber...
reality series, The Block
The Block
-Places:231 North Vandeventer Saint Louis MO, 63108.Australia* The Block , the first Aboriginal land handbackUnited States* The Block at Orange, an open-air shopping and entertainment mall located in Southern California...
. In 2009, he co-created Bravo reality series Work of Art: The Next Great Artist
Work of Art: The Next Great Artist
Work of Art: The Next Great Artist is an American reality competition show that airs on the cable television network Bravo, in which up-and-coming artists compete for a solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum and a cash prize of $100,000. The show is produced by Pretty Matches Productions and...
along with Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...
.
Studio Lambert
Holzman has run Studio LambertStudio Lambert
Studio Lambert is a fast-growing independent television production company based in Los Angeles and London.It specializes in creating and producing entertaining non-scripted programs for the UK, US and international markets. It launched in Soho, London, in March 2008 and six months later opened a...
's American side of business since it was founded in 2008, and continues to serve as president. He was recruited for the role by reality television executive Stephen Lambert
Stephen Lambert (media executive)
Stephen Lambert is an English television producer and executive. He is best known for creating and launching international hit formats such as the award-winning Wife Swap, Faking It, Secret Millionaire, and Undercover Boss...
. Lambert's and Holzman's first collaboration was the reality show Undercover Boss
Undercover Boss
Undercover Boss is a television franchise series that has been released in multiple countries, originating in 2009 on the British Channel 4...
, which premiered to 38 million viewers after the Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
. The show also went on to earn an Emmy Awards nomination. In November 2010, Holzman and Lambert published a book entitled Undercover Boss: Inside the TV Phenomenon That Is Changing Bosses and Employees Everywhere.
Holzman has also overseen and launched a variety of other reality shows, including Mel B: It's a Scary World
Mel B: It's a Scary World
Mel B: It's a Scary World is an American reality television series that debuted on Style Network on September 5, 2010. The show's title is a play on Melanie Brown's nicknames from her days when she was part of the Spice Girls, Mel B and "Scary Spice", the latter because of her hair style.-Series...
and Fairy Jobmother for Lifetime
Lifetime
Lifetime may refer to:*Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive*Mean lifetime, a certain number that characterizes the rate of reduction of a particle of an assembly...
, Southern Fried Stings
Southern Fried Stings
Southern Fried Stings is an American television series where ex-state trooper Jay Russell and his "Jay Team" portray sting operations throughout the Southern United States. The series consists of scripted "re-enactments" and videotaped in a cinéma vérité style in southern cities...
for TruTV, and Three in a Bed.
Entrepreneurial Endeavors
In 2008, Eli Holzman and three business partners founded QB Treats, LLC to market frozen novelties. The signature product is Q-Bee Treats, rice crispy treats filled with ice cream. The product line expanded to include brownies filled with ice cream. The novelties are sold nationwide in stores such as Whole FoodsWhole foods
Whole foods are foods that are unprocessed and unrefined, or processed and refined as little as possible, before being consumed. Whole foods typically do not contain added ingredients, such as salt, carbohydrates, or fat. Examples of whole foods include unpolished grains, beans, fruits, vegetables...
and Safeway
Safeway Inc.
Safeway Inc. , a Fortune 500 company, is North America's second largest supermarket chain after The Kroger Co., with, as of December 2010, 1,694 stores located throughout the western and central United States and western Canada. It also operates some stores in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern...
.
Together with his partners, Holzman opened The Meatball Shop restaurant in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Awards
Primetime Emmy AwardPrimetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
nominations
- 2002: Outstanding Reality Program - Project GreenlightProject GreenlightProject Greenlight was a contest and television series focusing on first-time filmmakers being given the chance to direct a feature film. It was created by Alex Keledjian, developed by Eli Holzman and produced by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Sean Bailey, and Chris Moore through their production...
- 2004: Outstanding Reality Program - Project Greenlight season 2
- 2005: Outstanding Reality Program - Project RunwayProject RunwayProject Runway is an American reality television series on Lifetime Television, previously on the Bravo network, which focuses on fashion design and is hosted by model Heidi Klum. The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted in time, materials and theme...
- 2005: Outstanding Reality Program - Project Greenlight season 3
- 2010: Outstanding Reality Program - Undercover BossUndercover BossUndercover Boss is a television franchise series that has been released in multiple countries, originating in 2009 on the British Channel 4...
Producers Guild of America
Producers Guild of America
Producers Guild of America is a trade organization representing television producers, film producers and New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 4,700 members of the producing establishment worldwide...
Award Nominations
- 2003: Television Producer of the Year Award in Reality/Game/Informational Series - Project Greenlight
- 2004: Television Producer of the Year Award in Reality/Game/Informational Series - Project Greenlight 2
Filmography
Executive- 2002: Project GreenlightProject GreenlightProject Greenlight was a contest and television series focusing on first-time filmmakers being given the chance to direct a feature film. It was created by Alex Keledjian, developed by Eli Holzman and produced by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Sean Bailey, and Chris Moore through their production...
(studio executive) - 2004: Project RunwayProject RunwayProject Runway is an American reality television series on Lifetime Television, previously on the Bravo network, which focuses on fashion design and is hosted by model Heidi Klum. The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted in time, materials and theme...
(production executive)
Executive Producer
- 2004: Beauty and the GeekBeauty and the GeekBeauty and the Geek is a reality television series on The CW. It has been advertised as "The Ultimate Social Experiment" and is produced by Ashton Kutcher, Jason Goldberg and Nick Santora....
- 2008: StylistaStylistaStylista was an American fashion-themed reality-television competition series that premiered on the CW network in the United States, and Citytv in Canada on October 22, 2008. The series was produced by Warner Horizon Television and Tyra Banks through her Bankable Productions. The series was not...
- 2009: Southern Fried StingsSouthern Fried StingsSouthern Fried Stings is an American television series where ex-state trooper Jay Russell and his "Jay Team" portray sting operations throughout the Southern United States. The series consists of scripted "re-enactments" and videotaped in a cinéma vérité style in southern cities...
- 2009: Work of Art: The Next Great ArtistWork of Art: The Next Great ArtistWork of Art: The Next Great Artist is an American reality competition show that airs on the cable television network Bravo, in which up-and-coming artists compete for a solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum and a cash prize of $100,000. The show is produced by Pretty Matches Productions and...
- 2009: Undercover BossUndercover BossUndercover Boss is a television franchise series that has been released in multiple countries, originating in 2009 on the British Channel 4...
- 2010: The Fairy Jobmother
- 2010: Mel B: It's a Scary WorldMel B: It's a Scary WorldMel B: It's a Scary World is an American reality television series that debuted on Style Network on September 5, 2010. The show's title is a play on Melanie Brown's nicknames from her days when she was part of the Spice Girls, Mel B and "Scary Spice", the latter because of her hair style.-Series...
- 2010: Dance Complex
- 2010: CBS / Studio Lambert Employee Competition Reality Project
Further reading
- The Futon Critic: Interview with Eli Holzman (February 2010)
- CNN: Eli Holzman on 'Undercover Boss' (November 2010)
External links
- Eli Holzman on IMDb
- Eli Holzman on FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
- Eli Holzman on LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a business-related social networking site. Founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003, it is mainly used for professional networking. , LinkedIn reports more than 120 million registered users in more than 200 countries and territories. The site is available in English, French,...
- Eli Holzman on Amazon.comAmazon.comAmazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...