[1] He has won critical acclaim as the executive producer of the national Main St. Inc series [1] and Dear America,[2] a documentary that promotes Senator Mike Gravel’s National Initiative for Democracy,[3] featuring Direct democracy proponents such as Ralph Nader, Noam Chomsky, Daniel Ellsberg, Pete Seeger, Max Brooks, production members of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica series, ex-Nirvana bassist and chairman of FairVote Krist Novoselic and Chancellors, Senators, Representatives and other notable public figures around the world.

In 1999, he began writing, producing and directing his first feature film, Dante's Arizona,[9] a tongue-in-cheek title for a story based loosely on Dante's Inferno, and starring Aja Evans,[10] Hans Olson, Paul Cook and himself, and implementing music from local AZ musicians Hans Olson, Flathead, Dead Hot Workshop, Gloritone, members of Gin Blossoms, and others.

The SMSH Journal is a quarterly publication featuring articles on Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine and other Arizona historical legends, places and events written by various authors and historians such as Marshall Trimble, Clay Worst and Tom Kollenborn.

Soon after, he was asked to be the executive producer of Dear America,[2] a documentary discussing the National Initiative for Democracy,[3] a constitutional amendment proposal that would effectively act as a check and balance against the current three branches of US government, and wherein the people could enact legislation themselves, without Congress or corporate influence.

With the critical success of Mill Ave Inc in 2008 Holthaus began a national series focusing on the socio-cultural and economic pitfalls of corporate “big box” chain stores in the downtowns of different cities.

The result was the controversial Beneath the Beauty (2010), which documented concerns from questionable real estate development deals to alleged police brutality cases and MT Senator Max Baucus's apparent collusion with pharmaceutical corporations in drafting the "Obamacare" health care bill.

In 2013, he successfully completed Stuck Outside of Phoenix, a feature-length drama based on the internationally renowned Tempe music scene of the 1990s, as encapsulated by the Art Edwards (co-founder and co-writer of The Refreshments) novel of the same name.