Noah Segan Premieres The Only Living Pickpocket in New York

Noah Segan premiered The Only Living Pickpocket in New York at the Eccles Theatre, marking the festival’s final fiction film premiere at the venue ahead of its move to Boulder in 2027, sundance.org reported. Twenty-one years after attending the festival with the cast and crew of Brick, Segan returned to Park City with a crime caper.

The New York Reunion at the Eccles Theatre

While Segan spoke from the lectern, producer Rian Johnson—who cast Segan in Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi, Knives Out, Looper, and every other movie he’s made since Brick—was in attendance. The screening drew several actors, including John Turturro, Steve Buscemi, and Giancarlo Esposito. During the post-screening Q&A, Buscemi recalled bringing Reservoir Dogs to the Sundance Labs with Quentin Tarantino, and then bringing that film and In the Soup to the Festival in 1992. Buscemi and Esposito also discussed working together on King of New York, prompting Segan to admit on stage that their shared history was entirely news to him.

Old-School Hustlers Versus Generational Wealth

The film channels codes of the underground seen in films like Do the Right Thing. Turturro stars as Harry, a small-time pickpocket who lives by strict rules even as he loses faith in his changing city. His crew includes Detective Warren, played by Esposito, and pawn-shop operator Ben, played by Buscemi. The plot sets these old-school operators against Dylan, played by Will Price, a cocky mobster’s kid who flaunts generational wealth and high-class vocabulary. When Harry accidentally steals a small fortune in cryptocurrency from Dylan, Dylan threatens the life of the pickpocket’s ailing wife.

A Cross-Borough Caper Led by an Eclectic Crew

The narrative unfolds as a low-key crime caper that prioritizes character interaction, sending the crew on a wild goose chase across the five boroughs to locate Dylan’s crypto key. Younger crew member Eve, played by Victoria Moroles, must explain the digital asset’s value to the older hustlers, while the journey also leads Harry to the doorstep of his estranged daughter Kelly, played by Tatiana Maslany. The production leans heavily into its geographic roots with a score composed by Beastie Boys member Adam Horovitz.

Reflections on Sundance History and the Move to Boulder

The premiere carried added emotional weight as the final fiction film premiere at the Eccles Theatre ahead of its move to Boulder in 2027. On stage, Buscemi reflected on bringing Reservoir Dogs to the Sundance Labs with Quentin Tarantino before screening that film and Grand Jury Prize winner In the Soup at the 1992 festival. Esposito delivered an impassioned address about how important the Institute, the Festival, and their founder, Robert Redford, are to him.