Most of the telling of Auggie's Christmas story, from when he goes to the projects to the end of the story, is one unbroken five-minute shot.
"Paul Benjamin" is a reference to this film's writer Paul Auster, whose middle name is Benjamin: Paul Benjamin Auster (Paul Auster).
When Auggie tells his Christmas story, a man looking very much like screenplay writer Paul Auster is sitting behind him on the table near the window.
Erica Gimpel, Victor Argo, Giancarlo Esposito, and Harold Perrineau appeared in King of New York (1990).