I guess I found interesting !!
http://www.friarsclub.org/july99epist/8.html
check out this link !!
sincerely
suzi
Old(1999) Article of About Steven Seagal & Nasso !!
- Thread starter suziwong
- Start date
I guess I found interesting !!
http://www.friarsclub.org/july99epist/8.html
check out this link !!
sincerely
suzi
Amos Stevens
New Member
When it comes to the birthplaces of illustrious Friars, few locations have as much meaning as Brooklyn. Some of the Club's most legendary members hail from the borough of Kings. There's Abbot Alan King, Abbot Emeritus Milton Berle, George Burns and Barbra Streisand, just to name a few. And though he may be relatively new to the Monastery, you can add Julius Nasso to the list of Friar Brooklynites of distinction. Not only does he maintain the home office of his pharmaceutical supply business in the neighborhood where he grew up, but he has brought some of the top power brokers from Hollywood to Brooklyn in his capacity as producer of popular action films starring Friar Steven Seagal.
The quiet tree-lined streets of Borough Park, Nasso explains, are the perfect backdrop for the sometimes high-pressure business he has to conduct. "Brooklyn grounds me. Many times_especially when we are filming_the phones get crazy. Agents, talent and vendors are calling and the pressure can reach a point where you start talking to yourself,'' Nasso says while relaxing in his office decorated with model ships and photos of him with Seagal and other action stars. "So I walk around the block to clear my head. Then I can be sure of my decisions because they are from the gut. Studio executives have wondered what I'm doing here on the corner of 12th Avenue and 59th Street. They don't understand...until they visit me and see what it's like in Brooklyn." Nasso's homegrown business is Universal Marine Medical Supply, one of the main suppliers of pharmaceuticals to ships at sea all over the world. The company specializes in supplying freighters, cruise ships and offshore rigs with surgical goods, prescription medicines and radio medical assistance. Nasso estimates that his firm_with annual gross sales of about $30 million_supplies about 65 percent of the active vessels worldwide. Not bad for a company which was born due to the brainstorm of a 20-year-old pharmacist-in-training.
Nasso was working one night at a Bay Ridge drugstore when a crewmember of a freighter docked in Brooklyn came in needing a laundry list of supplies in advance of a Coast Guard inspection. Since his pharmacy did not have everything the crewman needed, Nasso sent his delivery staff out to purchase the items at other neighborhood stores. He then did some research and discovered that most ships actually bought medical supplies in local ports. Why not, he thought, be that supplier on a larger scale? Now his firm_which also has offices in Miami, Houston, New Orleans, Los Angeles and San Francisco_services about 7,500 ships.
So how does the mild-mannered Nasso perform the balancing act necessary to keep his business and movie production work humming? "What I do as a movie producer is parallel to running my business because the rules and prerequisites are the same as far as making deals and figuring out the best way to do things,'' says Nasso, who was born in Calabria, Italy and came to America with his parents when he was two years old. "It's all about dealing with people. In both arenas, your final product is based on personalities and how well they work together."
A peek at his wall validates the success of his people skills. He's posing with the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Friar Bruce Willis and has movie posters inscribed to him by Robert DeNiro and Academy Award-winning producer Friar Arnold Kopelson whom he worked with on Out for Justice. "I never really thought about getting to the point I'm at now. I haven't done what I've done because of a desire for critical acclaim,'' admits the producer of films which have grossed more than a billion dollars for Warner Bros. "To me, it's about getting recognition in the industry for being a good filmmaker within the genre I've chosen."
Nasso first met Seagal on a business trip to Kobe, Japan in 1978 where the future action star was studying the martial arts aikido form. A family friend suggested they meet and after Seagal helped translate for Nasso, the pair became friends. When Seagal returned to the United States, he opened an aikido school in Los Angeles where a friendship with agent and martial arts aficionado Michael Ovitz ultimately led him to the starring role in the 1988 film Above the Law. It was the first product of Seagal-Nasso Productions, a collaboration which has spawned nine more films including Hard to Kill, Marked for Death and Under Siege.
Another Seagal effort, Out for Justice, was filmed in Brooklyn "right on the streets where I grew up," Nasso points out. "The satisfaction is that Steven and I started out at ground zero. It has really been exciting to experience every level of achievement along with him,'' Nasso says. "He went from never being in front of a camera to breaking all sorts of box office records. The interesting part about Steven is that he's much more of a writer than an actor. He's also accomplished at mixing action with choreography. He brings a different element to the action film scene."
Seagal is succinct with his praise for Nasso. "Jules is a perfectionist and a no nonsense person. As a result, he knows how to get along with everyone and coordinate very well,'' the action star offers. "There's a chemistry between he and I which works very well."
Though he's had the opportunity to move on, Nasso has remained loyal to Seagal and their projects together. "I knew he had the necessary charisma the first time I met him," Nasso continues. "One reason I am with Steven is that I've chosen to work at a certain pace. I'd rather make better pictures and not focus so much on quantity. I am a firm believer in the concept that we started together and have stayed together through the good and bad times. I'm not about to change now."
Though he'd visited the Friars over the years, Nasso became a member of the club around the time of the 1995 Celebrity Luncheon at which Seagal was Roasted. Mutual friends and Friars Danny Aiello and Joe Amiel were instrumental in getting him to join. "I enjoy the aura of the club. The history is still there for me,'' he says. "It has always been a great meeting place for networking and socializing. There's no better place for being part of a circle within your industry."
Nasso received his show business break in 1980 when he was hired as a part-time bilingual assistant to director Sergio Leone during the production of Once Upon A Time in America. "It truly was a chance to learn from a master,'' Nasso remembers. "I am a big believer in mentors. Another figure I admire is Arnold Kopelson. He's a major producer who, like me, came from a Jewish-Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn. From a blue collar background, he worked his way up and I respect him for that very much."
One of Nasso's most recent projects was The Prince of Central Park filmed last year in New York and starring Aiello, Kathleen Turner and Harvey Keitel. "I remember Julius calling me to ask me if I'd be in the movie. I was involved in some other projects, which I was trying to explain,'' Aiello recalls. "So finally he asks, 'are you gonna do it?' I told him I would. Then I heard silence, followed by a shout of happiness in the background. That kind of enthusiasm makes Julius special to me."
Amiel is equally enamored with Nasso. "What's so amazing about him is that he is so successful in two totally different careers,'' Amiel says. "He's this entrepreneur on one hand and then this quiet Brooklyn guy on the other making all kinds of big movie deals. He is truly one of the most gracious and humble people you'll ever want to meet."
So it was only natural that Nasso became part of the Monastery scene. "As friends and as Friars, we can take pride in the kinds of accomplishments he has had before joining the club, adds Aiello, the 1997 Roastee. "But Julius is a gentleman first, that's what's important. He's a genuine asset to the Friars."
The quiet tree-lined streets of Borough Park, Nasso explains, are the perfect backdrop for the sometimes high-pressure business he has to conduct. "Brooklyn grounds me. Many times_especially when we are filming_the phones get crazy. Agents, talent and vendors are calling and the pressure can reach a point where you start talking to yourself,'' Nasso says while relaxing in his office decorated with model ships and photos of him with Seagal and other action stars. "So I walk around the block to clear my head. Then I can be sure of my decisions because they are from the gut. Studio executives have wondered what I'm doing here on the corner of 12th Avenue and 59th Street. They don't understand...until they visit me and see what it's like in Brooklyn." Nasso's homegrown business is Universal Marine Medical Supply, one of the main suppliers of pharmaceuticals to ships at sea all over the world. The company specializes in supplying freighters, cruise ships and offshore rigs with surgical goods, prescription medicines and radio medical assistance. Nasso estimates that his firm_with annual gross sales of about $30 million_supplies about 65 percent of the active vessels worldwide. Not bad for a company which was born due to the brainstorm of a 20-year-old pharmacist-in-training.
Nasso was working one night at a Bay Ridge drugstore when a crewmember of a freighter docked in Brooklyn came in needing a laundry list of supplies in advance of a Coast Guard inspection. Since his pharmacy did not have everything the crewman needed, Nasso sent his delivery staff out to purchase the items at other neighborhood stores. He then did some research and discovered that most ships actually bought medical supplies in local ports. Why not, he thought, be that supplier on a larger scale? Now his firm_which also has offices in Miami, Houston, New Orleans, Los Angeles and San Francisco_services about 7,500 ships.
So how does the mild-mannered Nasso perform the balancing act necessary to keep his business and movie production work humming? "What I do as a movie producer is parallel to running my business because the rules and prerequisites are the same as far as making deals and figuring out the best way to do things,'' says Nasso, who was born in Calabria, Italy and came to America with his parents when he was two years old. "It's all about dealing with people. In both arenas, your final product is based on personalities and how well they work together."
A peek at his wall validates the success of his people skills. He's posing with the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Friar Bruce Willis and has movie posters inscribed to him by Robert DeNiro and Academy Award-winning producer Friar Arnold Kopelson whom he worked with on Out for Justice. "I never really thought about getting to the point I'm at now. I haven't done what I've done because of a desire for critical acclaim,'' admits the producer of films which have grossed more than a billion dollars for Warner Bros. "To me, it's about getting recognition in the industry for being a good filmmaker within the genre I've chosen."
Nasso first met Seagal on a business trip to Kobe, Japan in 1978 where the future action star was studying the martial arts aikido form. A family friend suggested they meet and after Seagal helped translate for Nasso, the pair became friends. When Seagal returned to the United States, he opened an aikido school in Los Angeles where a friendship with agent and martial arts aficionado Michael Ovitz ultimately led him to the starring role in the 1988 film Above the Law. It was the first product of Seagal-Nasso Productions, a collaboration which has spawned nine more films including Hard to Kill, Marked for Death and Under Siege.
Another Seagal effort, Out for Justice, was filmed in Brooklyn "right on the streets where I grew up," Nasso points out. "The satisfaction is that Steven and I started out at ground zero. It has really been exciting to experience every level of achievement along with him,'' Nasso says. "He went from never being in front of a camera to breaking all sorts of box office records. The interesting part about Steven is that he's much more of a writer than an actor. He's also accomplished at mixing action with choreography. He brings a different element to the action film scene."
Seagal is succinct with his praise for Nasso. "Jules is a perfectionist and a no nonsense person. As a result, he knows how to get along with everyone and coordinate very well,'' the action star offers. "There's a chemistry between he and I which works very well."
Though he's had the opportunity to move on, Nasso has remained loyal to Seagal and their projects together. "I knew he had the necessary charisma the first time I met him," Nasso continues. "One reason I am with Steven is that I've chosen to work at a certain pace. I'd rather make better pictures and not focus so much on quantity. I am a firm believer in the concept that we started together and have stayed together through the good and bad times. I'm not about to change now."
Though he'd visited the Friars over the years, Nasso became a member of the club around the time of the 1995 Celebrity Luncheon at which Seagal was Roasted. Mutual friends and Friars Danny Aiello and Joe Amiel were instrumental in getting him to join. "I enjoy the aura of the club. The history is still there for me,'' he says. "It has always been a great meeting place for networking and socializing. There's no better place for being part of a circle within your industry."
Nasso received his show business break in 1980 when he was hired as a part-time bilingual assistant to director Sergio Leone during the production of Once Upon A Time in America. "It truly was a chance to learn from a master,'' Nasso remembers. "I am a big believer in mentors. Another figure I admire is Arnold Kopelson. He's a major producer who, like me, came from a Jewish-Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn. From a blue collar background, he worked his way up and I respect him for that very much."
One of Nasso's most recent projects was The Prince of Central Park filmed last year in New York and starring Aiello, Kathleen Turner and Harvey Keitel. "I remember Julius calling me to ask me if I'd be in the movie. I was involved in some other projects, which I was trying to explain,'' Aiello recalls. "So finally he asks, 'are you gonna do it?' I told him I would. Then I heard silence, followed by a shout of happiness in the background. That kind of enthusiasm makes Julius special to me."
Amiel is equally enamored with Nasso. "What's so amazing about him is that he is so successful in two totally different careers,'' Amiel says. "He's this entrepreneur on one hand and then this quiet Brooklyn guy on the other making all kinds of big movie deals. He is truly one of the most gracious and humble people you'll ever want to meet."
So it was only natural that Nasso became part of the Monastery scene. "As friends and as Friars, we can take pride in the kinds of accomplishments he has had before joining the club, adds Aiello, the 1997 Roastee. "But Julius is a gentleman first, that's what's important. He's a genuine asset to the Friars."
Amos Stevens
New Member
YOur welcome Suziwong..finally found the article.
