Film Journalist Matt Zoller-Seitz, Judith Carter Aim To Expand Online Book Store
Anyone seriously interested in film likely knows the name of SMU grad Matt Zoller-Seitz.
He has written for the Dallas Observer, KERA, The Star-Ledger, and the New York Press and has been at New York Magazine for 11 years.
Zoller-Seitz was editor-in-chief for RogerEbert.com (now editor-at-large), was a 1994 Pulitzer Prize finalist, and since 1998, has been a member of the prestigious New York Film Critic’s Circle.
His first book, a 1996 biography of Brad Pitt, supplied him with the money to move to New York. His next came in 2013 with The Wes Anderson Collection. “I think it’s the best-selling coffee table book on film ever,” he said.
Other books he authored or co-authored include The Grand Budapest Hotel, Madmen Carousel, The Oliver Stone Experience, TV (The Book), The Sopranos Sessions, Guillermo Del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone, Bad Dads (a collection of Wes Anderson-inspired artwork), The Deadwood Bible (the first book published by his MZS Press imprint), and The French Dispatch which releases in August.
He returned to Dallas to record the last album of his ailing father, legendary jazz pianist Dave Zoller.
“I decided if I was going to record it, there might as well be a video record,” Zoller-Seitz said.
Bart Weiss, head of the Dallas Video Festival, helped assemble the production.
“We ended up having some of the best documentary camera people in the state of Texas working on this thing,” Zoller-Seitz said. “It reminded me what real friends are.”
With his business partner Judith Carter’s help, a return to Dallas ensued.
“Neither New York nor LA had what Dallas had, which was real friends,” he said.
Carter and Zoller-Seitz now run a bustling online bookstore, MZS.press.
In 2019 he began selling his works, and it has spread to a vast array of books, from fresh releases to out-of-print rarities, largely focused on film, TV, and pop culture, though they’re branching out into cookbooks, children’s books, and other genres.
“It’s really challenging, but it’s probably the best thing that ever happened to me,” Carter said.
Zoller-Seitz added, “It’s such a joy to work with someone who doesn’t get bored hearing me talk about books and movies all day.”
He now splits his time between Dallas and New York, with his work with the IFC film screening series and writing commitments.
“Dallas was the real foundation for me,” said Zoller-Seitz, who grew up in the Park Cities. “The public library was where I really discovered film criticism. The happiest I ever was professionally was when I was in college and working at the SMU bookstore and the Inwood Theater. I rode my bike back and forth.”
New titles from MZS Press are in the works, and the partners aim to open a brick-and-mortar store eventually.
“I remember what it was like to have no money and want to buy a book,” Zoller-Seitz said. “So, we try to keep them cheap.”
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