AJ Benza joins the podcast to share his Sopranos stories and experience, how he got featured in the series, his career as a celebrity insider and reporter during the prime of the show's run, and many personal anecdotes with the likes of Mariah Carey, John Gotti, Sylvester Stallone, and Howard Stern.

Poda Bing is an Alternate Thursdays production created by Vik Singh (@helloimvik)
Follow @podabing on IG, Twitter or wherever tf
All archived episodes are available, for free, at https://podabing.show and anywhere you listen to podcasts.

064: AJ Benza

A podcast that rigorously examines The Sopranos through deep dives, streams of consciousness, conversations, interviews, trivia and NBA analogies. Produced by Alternate Thursdays. Created and hosted by Vik Singh.

TV & Film

Poda Bing runs it back on "The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti".
Note: Poda Bing Redux is also on YouTube.

01:11 The connection between Christopher and espresso machines
02:07 The art of iconic opening shots
02:56 Merz b. Schwanen vs. Members Only
04:32 Espresso machine symbolism?
05:09 Opening shots across cinema
08:07 The art of iconic opening fits
08:45 What Christopher's dream said about Adriana
10:45 On going places we don't want to
14:31 Tony's "spring cleaning"
17:14 Christopher's writing travails
20:02 Christopher wants a NIL deal
21:11 Another installment of Vik's Legal Corner
21:55 Understanding derogations
 26:29 Joan Didion's could have helped Christopher
26:54 Writer distractions
28:43 Establishing shots and *possibility* of conflict
29:31 (Some more) thoughts on the final Soprano sequence
30:04 How Vito got made
32:18 Some "sweeping" tactics
33:44 The lengths one must go to to get Livia to eat lunch
35:20 The art of working in tight spaces
36:57 Chris and Paulie have a moment
39:10 Shlomo would have had something to say about arcs, too
42:49 Noah's "arc"
43:42 On the matter of where the bodies are buried
45:26 Richard's "two tickets to paradise"
46:45 Tony understands, it just takes time
49:03 The elite-ness of Agent Harris
52:00 Comparing and contrasting a Melfi family dinner with a Soprano one
52:48 What Columbus and Meucci have in common
53:29 Melfi's payment policy laid bare
54:06 Livia's semi-annual meeting of "Mothers Betraying Sons"
55:10 On receiving *that* phone call that spurs us to action
56:10 The different prisms of therapy on the show
56:37 Therapists with a flair for storytelling
58:15 Outro

-Poda Bing is an Alternate Thursdays production created by Vik Singh (@helloimvik)
-Follow @podabing on IG, Twitter or wherever tf
-All archived episodes are available at https://podabing.show or anywhere you get podcasts.

Redux 1.08

Poda Bing runs it back on "Down Neck".
Note: Poda Bing Redux is also on YouTube.

00:00 Intro
01:53 Sacramental wine 101
04:45 Hoopers portrayed in cinema
06:06 Call the Union! 
09:54 The art and science of Gandolfini 
11:58 Soprano math
12:49 Cross talk stagecraft 
17:43 The hold of "The Holdovers"
19:36 Scene dimensions
21:18 (One of the reasons) why Tony keeps us coming back
22:16 Like father like son
24:22 The "wisdom"  of crowds
26:03 Is it all just a big nothing?
26:45 What would Tony think of generative AI?
28:44 Feech shoulda hired Clarence Darrow
30:00 What if Tony got that electric organ?
32:06 Better halves
33:52 How to receive bad news from across a table
34:23 Carmela distinguishes herself
35:01 The best therapy

-Poda Bing is an Alternate Thursdays production created by Vik Singh (@helloimvik)
-Follow @podabing on IG, Twitter or wherever tf
-All archived episodes are available at https://podabing.show or anywhere you get podcasts.

Redux 1.07

Poda Bing runs it back on "Pax Soprana".
Note: Poda Bing Redux is also on YouTube.

00:00 Intro
01:00 The importance of skin care in this thing of ours
02:25 The importance of proper Italian delis
03:27 Bridge awe (again)
04:16 Sinatra all over Tony's shirt
05:09 Melfi's flirt meter
06:28 Best part about coffee dates
08:38 The power of Melfi's non-answers
10:41 The Elia Kazan-ness of certain shots this episode
12:39 Junior and David Stern
14:00 The respect for everyday characters in the show
14:30 Choice cuts
18:59 Would Tony be a fast texter?
21:25 An idea for Dua Lipa
22:03 The surgical precision of Johnny Sack's introduction
23:56 People at tables waiting
24:52 General writing nerdery
25:56 The ritual of garage conflicts
28:36 How not to court someone
30:45 Chase and Kandinsky connection
31:47 I miss "Flight of the Conchords"
35:11 Tony's path to coming clean to Melfi
39:39 How to handle being a witness to a crime perpetrated by O.C.
43:32 The notion of intermediaries and how Livia is *not* a good one
48:04 "Hesh's Horses" and Vik's quotation book
50:05 The sweet & sour of this episode

Poda Bing is an Alternate Thursdays production created by Vik Singh (@helloimvik)
Follow @podabing on IG, Twitter or wherever tf
All archived episodes are available, for free, at https://podabing.show and anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Redux 1.06

Poda Bing runs it back on "College".
Note: Poda Bing Redux is also on YouTube.

Poda Bing is an Alternate Thursdays production created by Vik Singh (@helloimvik)
Follow @podabing on IG, Twitter or wherever tf
All archived episodes are available, for free, at https://podabing.show and anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Redux 1.05

Poda Bing runs it back on "Meadowlands".
Note: Poda Bing Redux is also on YouTube.

Poda Bing is an Alternate Thursdays production created by Vik Singh (@helloimvik)
Follow @podabing on IG, Twitter or wherever tf
All archived episodes are available, for free, at https://podabing.show and anywhere you listen to podcasts.

064: AJ Benza

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