Robert Zoller

Matt Zoller Seitz, born in 1968, is an American critic, author, and filmmaker active in film and television commentary. He holds significant editorial roles at RogerEbert.com and serves as the television critic for New York magazine and Vulture.com. His career also includes past critic positions at Salon.com, The Newark Star Ledger, and The New York Times, as well as a media columnist role for the Dallas Observer. Seitz is recognized as a pioneer in video essay creation, having founded the blog The House Next Door and served as publisher for PressPlay, a platform dedicated to video criticism.

He has authored several books, including "The Wes Anderson Collection" (2013) and its subsequent volume on "The Grand Budapest Hotel" (2015), which were noted for their innovative design. He also co-authored "Mad Men Carousel: The Complete Critical Companion" (2015) and "The Press Gang" (2020), a compilation of his earlier film criticism. Beyond his writing, Seitz directed the feature film "Home" in 2005. His personal life has been marked by significant loss, including the deaths of his first wife, his second wife, and his father, events he later wrote about extensively.

Matt Zoller Seitz has established himself as a prominent voice in film and television criticism. His current roles include editor-at-large at RogerEbert.com and television critic for New York magazine and Vulture.com. He is also a juror for the George Foster Peabody Awards. Previously, he contributed as a television critic for Salon.com and The Newark Star Ledger, and as a film critic for The New York Times. His early career included a stint as a media columnist for the Dallas Observer. Seitz is credited with co-founding the film and media criticism blog, The House Next Door. He is particularly recognized for his leadership in developing video essays, which have been featured on platforms like Moving Image Source and The L Magazine. He also managed PressPlay, a website focused on video criticism of film and television.

As an author, Seitz has produced several notable books. "The Wes Anderson Collection," published in 2013, and its 2015 follow-up, "The Wes Anderson Collection: The Grand Budapest Hotel," received praise for their unique design, aiming to mirror the aesthetic of Wes Anderson's films. "Mad Men Carousel: The Complete Critical Companion," co-created with illustrator Max Dalton, was released in 2015. His 2020 book, "The Press Gang," co-written with Godfrey Cheshire and Armond White, compiles his film criticism from the New York Press during the late 1990s and early 2000s. In addition to his writing, Seitz also ventured into filmmaking, writing, directing, and editing the feature film "Home" in 2005.

Seitz grew up primarily in Dallas, Texas, and is the son of jazz pianist David Zoller. His personal life has been significantly impacted by loss. He was married to Jennifer Dawson from 1994 until her death in 2006; they had two children. He remarried in 2017 to Nancy Dawson, his first wife's sister. Nancy Dawson passed away from cancer in April 2020. His father died in November 2020, followed by his mother in April 2021. Seitz has openly addressed his experiences with grief and loss through a series of articles published on RogerEbert.com, offering personal reflections on these profound life events.