Leading members of the postproduction industry have issued a call for help, rallying to the aid of Sam Holtz, who suffered a heart attack earlier this year around the time of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) confab.
A mainstay figure in postproduction engineering and technology, Holtz is currently recuperating at home and undergoing physical therapy to regain his ability to walk–which may take several more months. His family has been financially devastated by the cost of his ordeal and ongoing convalescence.
A recent letter sent out to the industry at large informed people of Holtz’s plight. The letter was signed by Chris Homer, president of the Society of Television Engineers (STE), Moshe Barkat, president of Modern Videofilm, Leon Silverman of the Hollywood Post Alliance (HPA) and president of Laser Pacific, and Gavin Schutz, executive VP/chief technology officer of Ascent Media.
The letter cited Holtz’s contributions to the industry over the years, including his service to major trade organizations that benefit the technical and business aspects of the motion picture/TV landscape. Among these groups are the STE, the HPA, the Society of Television & Motion Picture Engineers, the Audio Engineering Society, the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and the former International Teleproduction Society.
Holtz was also credited with being instrumental in helping to eliminate the California sales tax previously paid by producers for production and post services. That lobbying effort took place in 1988. Then in ’92, Holtz played a key role in the significant reduction of property taxes paid by production and post facilities within Los Angeles County. And in ’00, Holtz took the lead in the industry push to gain a five-percent tax credit for facilities relative to equipment purchased in the transition from analog to digital.
I can attest to Holtz’s commitment to the betterment of the overall industry. I first met him years ago when he was at the former Editel/Los Angeles, before he moved on to partner in now defunct Action Video, Hollywood. But he usually called me not to promote the companies he was with, but rather to generate coverage for issues that the various trade organizations he was involved in were looking to address.
The industry letter from Messrs. Homer, Barkat, Silverman and Schutz noted that the tax savings–which Holtz helped to attain–on one HD VTR amount to about $5,000. “If every company were to contribute this amount, we could achieve our goal of $100,000,” read the letter, which urges contributions be made as a gift honorarium, a well-deserved thank you to Holtz “for what he has done for our industry.”
Individual donations up to $11,000–while not tax deductible by the donor–do not cause a taxable event for Holtz and his family, according to the letter. Contributions can be sent to: Sam Holtz, c/o Modern Videofilm, 4411 W. Olive Ave., Burbank, CA 91505. Checks should be made payable to Sam Holtz.
