RogerEbert.com Announces Editor-in-Chief and Advisory Board

Pulitzer-nominated film critic Matt Zoller Seitz to curate content for site; Advisory Board includes Groupon co-founder

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Jun 04, 2013, 09:44 ET

CHICAGO, June 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Ebert Digital, owner of the redesigned, highly interactive RogerEbert.com portal for film reviews and movie news, has selected Matt Zoller Seitz, a Pulitzer-nominated film and television critic, as the new editor-in-chief. The site also has a three-member Advisory Board that will include Brad Keywell, co-founder of Groupon and several other technology companies.

RogerEbert.com brings together serious film criticism, commentary and a global community of film aficionados alongside the most comprehensive collection of Roger Ebert's Pulitzer Prize–winning content online.

Seitz, who lives in Brooklyn with his two children, brings his vast experience as a writer, editor, filmmaker and director to the position. He is a TV critic for New York magazine and Vulture.com, and founder and original editor of The House Next Door, a movie blog that is now part of Slant magazine. His reviews have appeared in newspapers across the country, including the New York Times. He also is the publisher of Press Play, a film and TV blog that Roger Ebert once called "the best video essay source on the Web." In 1994, Seitz was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in film criticism. Roger Ebert was the first film critic to win that prize in 1975.

Seitz's five-part 2009 video essay Wes Anderson: The Substance of Style was spun off into The Wes Anderson Collection, set to be published October 1 by Abrams Books. Seitz directed the 2005 romantic comedy Home and a forthcoming science fiction epic shot entirely in his apartment.

"It was critically important to me that the editor-in-chief for RogerEbert.com have deep, high-touch experience in the world of filmmaking as well as film criticism. Matt is the total package," said Chaz Ebert, owner of Ebert Digital, and Publisher of RogerEbert.com. "Roger and I envisioned the site as a bridge between critics and fans. Matt brings his own loyal followers and fans to help build on Roger's enduring legacy."

RogerEbert.com's Advisory Board will consist of three innovative thinkers: Frank Sennett, an award-winning Chicago journalist who recently stepped down as president and editor-in-chief of Time Out Chicago after shepherding the company's sale to its minority partner; Janelle Brittain, founder of the Dynamic Performance Institute and an internationally known consultant, executive coach, corporate trainer and facilitator; and Keywell, a co-founder of Lightbank, Groupon, Echo Global Logistics, Mediaocean, and several other technology companies.

"I am thrilled about the dynamic team that will lead RogerEbert.com," said Chaz Ebert, who made the announcements following her return from the 66^th annual Cannes Film Festival, "one of my husband's favorite film venues."

Ebert Digital was founded by Chaz and Roger Ebert, who was the film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times for 46 years, and Josh Golden, the digital business strategist who redesigned the site. The Eberts were working on the relaunch of the site before Roger Ebert died April 4. The mission of the site is to offer comprehensive, serious film critiques, along with easily navigable guidance to those just looking for a good movie.

SOURCE Ebert Digital