Noah Segan Explains How ‘Knives Out’ Helped Make ‘The Only Living Pickpocket in New York’ Possible
Noah Segan says the success of Rian Johnson’s *Knives Out* helped make his crime drama *The Only Living Pickpocket in New York* possible. Johnson and producing partner Ram Bergman developed the film through T-Street Productions after *Knives Out* became a major commercial success.
Segan wrote the script in 2017 while caring for his baby, and initially sought an actor in his eighties to play Harry Lehman, an ageing pickpocket struggling to support his incapacitated wife as digital payments erode his trade. The casting search widened to actors aged 65 and over, eventually leading to John Turturro, whose role is his first big-screen starring part in more than 20 years. *Knives Out*, starring Daniel Craig, grossed $312 million on a $40 million budget; the new film is expanding its theatrical release on 30 October.
In short
- *Knives Out*’s success helped Johnson produce Segan’s crime drama.
- John Turturro plays an ageing New York pickpocket.
- The film expands its theatrical release on 30 October.
Explained simply
Rian Johnson is a film-maker whose 2019 murder mystery Knives Out starred Daniel Craig as detective Benoit Blanc. Its commercial success helped Johnson and producer Ram Bergman establish T-Street, the company behind their later projects.
Noah Segan wrote The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, a crime drama about Harry Lehman, an ageing thief whose livelihood is threatened as people move from cash to digital payments. Harry is also caring for his incapacitated wife, linking the crime story to questions of ageing, work and financial change. John Turturro plays Harry; the role is his first starring part in a film released in cinemas in more than two decades.