Miramax After graduating from
The Bronx High School of Science, Eli Holzman began his career at
Miramax Films in early 1996. There, he worked on numerous films, including
In Too Deep and
Rounders. Holzman's first major unscripted hit series came after he developed and produced the
HBO series
Project Greenlight with
Ben Affleck and
Matt Damon, 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 created the popular show
Project Runway, which has run for 17 seasons to date and currently airs on Bravo in the United States.
Katalyst Films After his departure from Miramax, Holzman was hired in 2005 as president of
Ashton Kutcher's production company
Katalyst Films, best known for the MTV prank series ''
Punk'd.
In 2005, Holzman developed and launched the reality television show Beauty and the Geek'' and developed Katalyst's inaugural slate of scripted programming
. The show went on to earn two Primetime Emmy Awards. In November 2010, Holzman and Lambert published a book entitled
Undercover Boss: Inside the TV Phenomenon That Is Changing Bosses and Employees Everywhere. While at Studio Lambert USA, Holzman oversaw and launched a variety of other reality shows, including
The Pitch for AMC,
Consumed for CNBC, ''
The People's Couch for Bravo, The Million Second Quiz for NBC, Weed Country and Outlaw Empires for Discovery, Trouble Next Door
for OWN, Be The Boss
for TNT, Rat Bastards
and Diamond Divers
for Spike, Mel B: It's a Scary World for Style Network, Fairy Jobmother and Supermarket Superstar for Lifetime, Mystery Millionaire for WEtv, Model Employee
for VH1, and Southern Fried Stings'' for TruTV. Holzman oversaw the operation which housed production companies including Studio Lambert USA,
Maverick,
Objective,
Lime Pictures, Morocco Junction, MME/Filmpool, and
Zoo Productions. Holzman also launched All3Media's American scripted television operation. Series produced under the various All3Media America companies included
Make Me a Millionaire Inventor for CNBC,
Slednecks for MTV,
True Tori for Lifetime,
Chrisley Knows Best for USA,
Hot Grits for VH1,
Work Out New York for Bravo, and
United Shades of America and
Declassified: The Untold Stories of American Spies for CNN. In 2014, Holzman produced the critically acclaimed documentary
The Seven Five, chronicling the misdeeds of the infamous, corrupt NYC cop
Michael Dowd. The documentary is currently being adapted into a scripted feature by
Sony Pictures and
Annapurna, with Holzman producing.
The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC) In 2016, Holzman left All3Media America to found and launch
The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC), assuming the role of CEO.
Aaron Saidman, previously the EVP of All3Media America, joined him as co-founder and president. The company was financed by private equity investors,
Sheldon Yellen,
Michael G. Rubin, and David J. Adelman. Yellen and Rubin had both previously appeared on
Undercover Boss. As CEO of IPC, Holzman oversees the company's day-to-day operations and its diverse slate of series, features, and projects in development across broadcast, cable and the major streaming services. As President of SPT Nonfiction, Holzman oversees the independent production companies which form the SPT Nonfiction group:
19 Entertainment &
19 Recordings,
Sharp Entertainment, B17 Entertainment, Maxine, This Machine Filmworks, Trilogy Films, House of Non-Fiction, and The Intellectual Property Corporation. IPC soon went into production on its inaugural series,
Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath for A&E, and was the television network's highest rated premiere in two years. The series became a commercial and critical success, winning a Primetime Emmy Award in 2017. At IPC, Holzman has created and produced a broad range of unscripted television series, including
Living Undocumented for Netflix,
Free Meek and
This Giant Beast That Is The Global Economy for Amazon,
The Substitute and ''
America's Most Musical Family for Nickelodeon, Kingpin for History, Active Shooter: America Under Fire
for Showtime, Mind Field for YouTube Premium, Sticker Shock for Discovery, and the critically acclaimed feature documentary Operation Odessa,
which currently holds a "100% Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.'' In 2017,
The Hollywood Reporter included Holzman and Saidman on their list of "Reality TV's Ruling Class: The Top 10 Players of 2017." In 2019, it was announced that Holzman would serve as a producer on the HBO drama series
Dirty Thirty, created by
Courtney Kemp. The project is currently in development.
Industrial Media In 2018, Core Media acquired The Intellectual Property Corporation and immediately relaunched as
Industrial Media, with Holzman assuming the role of CEO and board member, while remaining the CEO of IPC. Aaron Saidman became president of Industrial Media, while remaining the president of IPC. Comprising
19 Entertainment,
Sharp Entertainment, B17, and
The Intellectual Property Corporation, Industrial Media had over 40 series on 20 different networks at launch. Industrial Media has since entered deals with production companies including
RJ Cutler's This Machine and
Don Cheadle's Radicle Act. As CEO of Industrial Media, Holzman also serves as an executive producer on ABC's
American Idol, and FOX's
So You Think You Can Dance. In May 2021,
Deadline announced Holzman would be the executive producer of ''
The D'Amelio Show''.
Sony Pictures Entertainment In March 2022, Sony Pictures Entertainment acquired Industrial Media and Holzman was named President of Sony Pictures Television Nonfiction. As President of SPT Nonfiction, Holzman oversees the independent production companies which form the SPT Nonfiction group: 19 Entertainment & 19 Recordings, Sharp Entertainment, B17 Entertainment, Maxine, This Machine Filmworks, This Radicle Act Productions, Trilogy Films, House of Non-Fiction, and The Intellectual Property Corporation.
Entrepreneurial endeavors In 2008, Holzman invented the frozen novelties Q-Bee Treats, rice crispy treats and brownies filled with ice cream. The novelties were sold nationwide in stores such as Whole Foods and Safeway. In 2010, Holzman became a founding and managing partner of
The Meatball Shop restaurant group. In 2014, he became a founding partner of Itani Ramen in Oakland, California. Both restaurants were partnerships led by Holzman's brother, celebrity chef Daniel Holzman. ==Personal life==