Eva Victor Interview + New Amy Taubin Episode + "A Theater Near You" Chat
Plus a bumper crop of writing, online and off
Dear Last Thing I Sawfolk,
It’s hard to be in a very celebratory mood this July 4th weekend, and indeed more than a few movies on my latest podcast with Amy Taubin feel tinged with a certain mood of impending doom. You can listen below to our chat—which includes her very cool reading of Twin Peaks: The Return (and rounds up a few Tribeca festival titles to keep on your radar).
I also had the pleasure of interviewing the director of one of my favorite movies this year, Sorry, Baby, which I saw at its premiere at Sundance. I spoke with Eva Victor first for the cover story of the latest issue of Filmmaker magazine, and again for a delightful episode of The Last Thing I Saw.
And while we’re catching up, I’m sharing here my episode with David Schwartz about his MoMA series A Theater Near You (which has a few more days of screenings!).
Onward and, one hopes, upward,
Nic
THE PODCAST
[To play each episode, click the episode title, or click in the player below. Or find The Last Thing I Saw elsewhere...]
Ep. 332: Amy Taubin on Cloud, Tribeca (I Was Born This Way, Happy Birthday, Shadow Scholars), Twin Peaks, Outrageous, plus Mountainhead
Ep. 331: Eva Victor, writer-director of Sorry, Baby, on the film’s influences and her recent viewing
Ep. 330: David Schwartz on A Theater Near You series at MoMA + Nitrate Picture Show 2025
Episodes of The Last Thing I Saw are widely available (iTunes, Spotify, etc.).
RECENT WORK
Here’s my cover story for the new issue of Filmmaker magazine: an extended interview with Eva Victor, writer-director of the excellent Sorry, Baby. I don’t think it’s entirely available online so why not buy an issue or subscribe to this absolutely sterling publication!
And a heads-up: I wrote an essay for the Criterion Collection edition of Flow, the Academy Award winner for Best Animated Feature, which was great fun to do. It comes out in September but here’s a link to what’s on the edition.
My latest review for The New York Times is Albert Serra’s first feature-length documentary, Afternoons of Solitude. It’s about a bullfighter and it’s a pick.
Also, not available online, but the latest issue of Sight & Sound (Summer 2025) has assorted writing by yours truly.
THIS CRITIC’S PICKS
David (Metrograph) Nathan Fielder stars
Bad Day at Black Rock (Criterion)
Invention (MUBI)
Sinners (HBO MAX)
Twin Peaks: The Return (MUBI) And here is Amy Taubin’s knockout article as mentioned on the podcast
Scattered Clouds (Criterion) Mikio Naruse’s swan song
THE END
Here I may end with a song.
ABOUT ME
Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw! I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. You can get in touch re: writing, editing, programming, moderating, podcasting, etc. at
nicolas.rapold[at]gmail.com
Besides hosting the podcast, I’m a writer, editor, and programmer. My features, interviews, festival reports, and reviews are published in The New York Times, Screen Slate, Sight & Sound, Filmmaker, Air Mail, The Financial Times, and W Magazine. (Dearly departed publications include The Village Voice, Stop Smiling, The New York Sun, and The L Magazine.) I’m also proud of the film series and one-offs I’ve programmed, revivals and premieres, so do drop me a line if you’d like to collaborate.
Editorially speaking, I worked as editor-in-chief of Film Comment magazine, where I was for 15 years in all. I assigned and edited both web and print, hosted The Film Comment Podcast and Talks, curated and hosted Film Comment Selects screenings, learned from brilliant writers, and wrote a lot, including interviews with Spike Lee, Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, Pedro Costa, and Frederick Wiseman. Film Comment received the Film Heritage Award from the National Society of Film Critics.
The Last Thing I Saw is a reader-supported publication. Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Live a little!