It was at that time, that I got together with Xavier,
and suggested we put together a hospital where
mothers could take their daughters, buy them baby
dolls, and use that as an explanation as to how babies
were born. We created garden patches to show dolls
being born from the cabbage patch, then they would
give the baby doll to the child, and go to a nurses
station to fill out a birth certificate. Immediately this
turned around my business, and attracted, funnily
enough the tourists who were coming into the city
on the bus tours that stopped in front of my shop.
You met Steve Ross, the CEO of Time Warner at the
Cabbage Patch Babyland General Hospital. How did
you meet him and what was the outcome from that
meeting?
He came into the store to buy dolls for his
granddaughters. Back then, the lines were very long
and he said to me, since the store had an entrance
on 5th ave and on 41st st, you should think about
putting a VIP entrance and I can send you a lot of
celebrities. From there, I became the cabbage patch
man supplying all of the Hollywood stars.
4. You worked under Director Sergio Leone
who did ‘Once Upon a Time in America’ and
you were in development of films as ‘In God’s
Name’ and Saint Peter’s Banker’. What did you
learn from Sergio Leone?
Working with Sergio I was privileged to learn all
of the aspects of film production including set
design, dealing with many, many different trades.
When you’re working on a project and you hire,
you want to hire the best talent in each and every
category and you have to respect every one of those
workers. One of the major problems in Hollywood
has always been dictating. What Leone used to do
was facilitate. It’s not anything different - if you’re a
general contractor building a building and you hire
a plumber to do the plumbing work you’re not going
to tell him how to do his work, but you expect that
he will give you the best work.
of course, how to handle talent and people with more
experience than you. It helped me also learn how to
search for the right mentors and learn from them.
6. The television pilot you did with Fox TV
‘Behind the 8 Ball’ - who out of the three stars
you worked with Jerry Orbach, John Amos and
Jimmy Baio was best to work with?
They were all excellent. I really enjoyed Jerry Orbach
for his theatrical skills - back then he was starring on
Broadway in 42nd st.
7. You have a close relationship with Warner
Brothers - when did you start the relationship
with Warner Brothers and what films did you
5. You studied film production at the Cinecitta produce which became number one in your
own opinion?
Studios in Rome back in the 1980’s. What did
you learn from these courses and seminars?
Out for Justice! I had the privilege of shooting in the
And how did you apply those studies to your
neighbourhood that I grew up in.
current films?
The seminars I have taken were very instrumental
in learning the behaviour of how to be successful in
film and television production and negotiations and
8. In the early 2000’s you started Manhattan
Pictures and Julius Nasso Productions. What
urged you to open these production companies
considering you have a great relationship with