KISMET

Building a Media Empire Around a Motion Picture

By the end of June 2026, I was approaching the completion of one of the largest technology and publishing projects I've ever undertaken.

For more than fifteen years, my magazines and websites had been hosted by the same legacy company. Over time, that relationship had grown to encompass approximately 5,000 web pages spread across fifteen websites.

Moving that amount of material to a new platform would have been nearly impossible a decade ago. Even five years earlier, I might have considered the project impractical. New technology finally made the transition feasible.

Why undertake such a massive migration while developing a major motion picture? Because I recognized the enormous promotional potential of building a unified, independently controlled network of magazines, websites, events and media relationships.

The resulting organization, Luxury Chamber Media Group, is designed to do much more than publish magazines. It brings together media properties, luxury networking, publicity, entertainment promotion and direct access to readers across numerous markets.

My intention is to use these resources to help introduce Buddy from Brooklyn to a national and international audience while continuing to expand the individual publications.

The migration was demanding, occasionally exhausting, and absolutely necessary. I wanted the media infrastructure in place so that I could devote my attention to the financing, production and, most importantly, promotion of the film.

Buddy's story deserves an extraordinary presentation, and I intend to give it one.

Life Is Beautiful, Carlito's Way and an Unexpected Hollywood Encounter

In late March 2026, I met a woman through Facebook Dating. She had contacted me first, and as we became acquainted, I discovered that her family had significant historical connections to casinos and horse racing, with names that overlapped the Bieber, Jacobs, Jacobson and Wolfson circles I had been researching.

One evening, I visited her home and we decided to watch a movie. When she asked what I wanted to see, I immediately suggested Life Is Beautiful, the celebrated Italian film. She wasn't interested in that particular selection, so we watched Carlito's Way instead.

Five days later, I flew to New Jersey for a celebrity convention. Among the people I encountered was Italian actor Giorgio Cantarini, who had appeared as a child in Life Is Beautiful.

I was immediately struck by his resemblance to a young Buddy Jacobson. We discussed the possibility of his involvement in the film, and I presented him with a letter of intent. Before I left the convention, his representative returned with the signed document.

As though the connection weren't already unusual enough, Giorgio had also portrayed Giorgio Lamborghini in the motion picture Lamborghini, a production with which I had a previous professional connection.

Consider the sequence: I suggest a movie that my companion declines to watch, and only days later I meet one of its stars, who happens to resemble the subject of the film I'm producing.

Sometimes the timing of these experiences is more remarkable than the events themselves.

Sometimes coincidence feels remarkably like a script being written before your eyes.

The New Jersey Celebrity Convention

My April 2–4 visit to the Chill Out NJ Expo at the Hanover Marriott in Whippany was part of a larger effort to develop relationships with actors and industry professionals who might be suitable for Buddy from Brooklyn.

The convention brought together performers associated with The Sopranos, classic Hollywood productions and popular television. Among the advertised personalities were Robert Funaro, Dominic Chianese, Dan Grimaldi, John Martino, Oksana Lada, Carmen Electra, Dolph Lundgren, Brooke Shields, Boy George, Warwick Davis, Catherine Bach and Heather Thomas.

I attended with letters of intent and a clear objective: meet prospective performers, explain the historical importance of the Buddy Jacobson story and begin developing the relationships that could eventually shape the cast.

Given the film's New York setting, its horse-racing background and its connections to the city's underworld and nightlife, actors familiar with that cultural landscape are of particular interest.

Anthony Haden-Guest, My Mother and a Return to Old New York

In February, my mother Dawn Eve and I traveled to New York City to celebrate the 89th birthday of writer, critic and legendary nightlife observer Anthony Haden-Guest.

The celebration took place on February 2, Anthony's actual birthday, at Baker Falls on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Guests began gathering around seven in the evening, and the party carried on well into the early morning.

The atmosphere reminded me of the glamorous, uninhibited Manhattan nightlife that Anthony chronicled so memorably in his writing, particularly his book The Last Party, which explores the Studio 54 era.

Anthony was in fine form, enjoying red wine, conversation, music and dancing in the company of friends from New York's artistic and social circles.

Among those in attendance were personalities such as Blake Sandberg, Ronnie Norbel, Julie Harvey, Karen Nielsen, Leslie Laurence, photographer Dustin "Pop" Pittman and filmmaker Christopher Guest, along with numerous other guests.

For me, the evening carried special meaning because I had brought my mother from Minnesota. In the 1970s, she had been a New York fashion model associated with Buddy Jacobson and Melanie Cain's My Fair Lady modeling agency. To return with her to Manhattan while developing a movie about that very world was a remarkable experience.

We had also recently returned from Peru, and even that became part of the evening's unexpected connections when we learned of the Peruvian background of people involved with the venue.

There was conversation about the possibility of a future film-related celebration at Baker Falls. Whether that happens remains to be seen, but the setting certainly captures the spirit of the story.

Watching my mother reconnect with the social atmosphere of her younger years was one of the most meaningful experiences of this entire adventure.

The Michael Korda Miracle: Two Books That Changed My Life

One of the more extraordinary aspects of this story involves two books that influenced me when I was a young boy: Power and Success, both written by the celebrated author and publishing executive Michael Korda.

To explain the connection, I have to return to the 1970s.

My mother was living and working in Manhattan, moving in a social circle that included Buddy Jacobson, Melanie Cain, models, writers, businessmen and the fashionable crowd that gathered at Maxwell's Plum.

Korda was a prominent figure in that Manhattan literary and social world. When my mother eventually returned to Minnesota, she brought several books with her, including his Power and Success.

Years later, when I was around eleven or twelve, I was living with my family in an A-frame cabin in the woods near Margie, Minnesota, not far from the Canadian border.

One day, bored and curious, I explored an old storage building and discovered several suitcases and boxes containing my mother's belongings from New York. Among the treasures were those two Michael Korda books.

I had little interest in business books at that age, but Korda's writing was different. His observations about ambition, power, human nature and sophisticated society were witty, occasionally outrageous, and thoroughly entertaining.

I read both books from beginning to end. Their influence stayed with me for decades.

When Wall Street arrived in theaters in 1987, I was fifteen years old and fascinated by the world it portrayed. I began dressing like a young businessman. That Christmas, when my father asked what I wanted, I requested a briefcase.

He bought it for me. For the next couple of years, I sometimes rode my skateboard to school wearing a blazer and carrying a leather briefcase. It must have been quite a sight in rural Minnesota.

Fast-forward to 2025. I began writing my own book, How to Perform Like a Billionaire, under the PERFORM LAB concept. Drawing on decades of business experience, personal adventures and encounters with successful people, I set out to share my own ideas about success.

Only later did I fully appreciate how much Korda's writing had influenced the style and subject matter of my book.

And then came June 12, 2025, when a DNA discovery connected my family to Jeffrey Gural, whose business history led me straight back to Buddy Jacobson.

Think about that for a moment. Books my mother brought home from Buddy's social world helped shape my ambitions as a child. Decades later, I wrote a book influenced by those same ideas, and researching the family connections surrounding that book brought me back to Buddy himself.

The first copy of my book was purchased by my friend Marc, who had also given me my first Torah, a Jerusalem Bible published by Koren.

Even that personal connection carried memories of earlier chapters of my life, including my time in Venezuela in 1998.

Life has a peculiar way of connecting things that seemed entirely unrelated when they first happened.

A Cinematic Thanksgiving in Miami Beach

Thanksgiving 2025 was spent in the company of Miami personality John Lamur and film investor Lance Bernstein at J'Adore Miami Beach.

With its theatrical interiors, elaborate dinner entertainment, stylish guests and lively atmosphere, J'Adore offered the sort of setting that could easily inspire a movie scene.

The evening featured fine dining, cocktails, music, conversation and the unmistakable glamour of South Florida nightlife.

A holiday dinner with friends might seem like an ordinary social occasion. Yet after spending so much time researching Manhattan's legendary restaurants and nightclubs, I find myself paying closer attention to the personalities and stories surrounding these establishments.

Maxwell's Plum: A Vortex of Synchronicity

The deeper I investigated Buddy Jacobson's world, the more frequently one Manhattan establishment appeared in my research: Maxwell's Plum.

This celebrated restaurant and singles bar was one of the great social gathering places of 1970s New York. Buddy, Melanie Cain, my mother and numerous personalities connected to the fashion, business and entertainment worlds were part of that scene.

Maxwell's Plum was associated with restaurateur Warner LeRoy, whose Hollywood family connections included his father, film director Mervyn LeRoy, and his grandfather Harry Warner, one of the founders of Warner Bros.

Warner LeRoy's restaurant and entertainment ventures also included such celebrated establishments as Tavern on the Green and the Russian Tea Room.

The family connection to the motion picture industry fascinated me. Here was another intersection of New York nightlife, Hollywood, family history and the social world I was researching.

Even more interesting was the connection to the books my mother had brought home: Michael Korda's Power, published in 1975; Success, published in 1977; and Fred Kogos's Instant Yiddish, published in 1967.

Maxwell's Plum offered a possible connection between my mother's New York years and the books that later inspired my career.

What had seemed like unrelated childhood memories were gradually revealing their place in a much larger family narrative.

Jimmy Hoffa, Horse Farms and Another Historical Mystery

While researching the relationships among prominent horse owners, racing families and figures connected to organized crime, I encountered another enduring American mystery: the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa.

I also spoke with Carmelo "Mel" Cottone, a veteran attorney and political figure whose recollections introduced additional names and historical leads into my research.

My reading eventually took me to Rolland McMaster and the Michigan horse property that became the subject of an FBI search for Hoffa's remains.

I began comparing historical accounts, property maps and information about the searches. At one point, I wondered whether investigators had overlooked a particular area.

These were my own speculative observations, not evidence of where Hoffa is buried. Nevertheless, the experience illustrated how research into one horse-racing story can open the door to an entirely different chapter of American history.

The intertwined worlds of racing, politics, gambling and organized crime contain enough fascinating material for many motion pictures.

A New Hollywood Connection in the Silbergeld Research

In the early morning hours of October 30, I came across another surprising name while researching the historical events surrounding Buddy Jacobson.

Actress Mel Harris had been married to David Silbergeld during the late 1970s, a period central to the story.

Their relationship and the later criminal-case accounts involving Silbergeld offered another potential historical thread for the screenplay, including events reported in 1982 while Buddy was imprisoned.

These subjects require careful documentary research, particularly where criminal allegations and real individuals are concerned. Nevertheless, the discovery demonstrated how frequently the worlds of Hollywood, nightlife, wealth and crime intersected during that era.

Meeting Familiar Faces from Hollywood and The Sopranos

My visit to the Chill Out New Jersey Expo provided a welcome opportunity to meet actors and personalities whose work I had followed over the years.

Among the memorable encounters were Larry Thomas, famous for portraying the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld, and Robert Funaro, known for his work on The Sopranos.

I also spent time meeting other attendees, including Joe "Pepe" Gambino, and sharing information about the developing film.

These events are valuable not simply because celebrities attend them, but because a brief personal introduction can begin a much more meaningful professional relationship.

In filmmaking, as in business, relationships often begin in unexpected places.

A Surprise Family Reunion and a Young Buddy Lookalike

In October, I received a message from my cousin Anthony, whom I had known for many years but had never met in person.

Anthony is the grandson of my uncle Deli, a man whose business accomplishments and personal influence had earned him a place in my book How to Perform Like a Billionaire.

One of my favorite family stories concerns Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, who reportedly selected my uncle from a large audience of Korean War veterans as an individual especially likely to succeed.

My uncle went on to build a substantial business, and his example influenced the way I thought about ambition and success.

Anthony surprised me by coming to South Florida. We met at El Camino for Taco Tuesday, enjoyed a few beers and discovered that we had an astonishing amount in common.

Later, we visited Tin Roof, where I noticed that one of the young men working at the establishment bore a resemblance to Buddy Jacobson in his younger years.

Remarkably, he also had a connection to horses and the bar business, two defining elements of Buddy's life.

Naturally, I began considering whether he might have the appearance needed for a younger version of Buddy in a promotional scene.

From a Car Wash Receipt to Coachella

Not every coincidence involves a billionaire or a Hollywood actor. Sometimes it starts at a malfunctioning gas pump.

I had stopped to purchase fuel and a car wash when the machine failed to print my receipt. I went inside to retrieve it and discovered that the person behind the counter was an acquaintance I had known for approximately twenty years.

Then I noticed the car wash code printed on the receipt: 92261.

The number caught my attention because it corresponded to a ZIP code in the Palm Springs area of California, the region associated with the annual Coachella music festival.

My thoughts immediately turned to Coachella, its entertainment connections and the enormous influence of AEG founder Philip Anschutz.

I started thinking about attending the April 2026 festival and the opportunities that might exist to meet creative people from the music and entertainment industries.

Was the number on the receipt a meaningless coincidence? Probably, to most people. To me, it became another entertaining little episode in a year already overflowing with unexpected connections.

Football, Cigars and an Atlantic City Connection

I went to Ocean Manor Resort in Fort Lauderdale to watch the Minnesota Vikings' season opener.

The Vikings managed to pull off a victory, but another highlight of the evening was meeting a casino executive from Atlantic City, New Jersey.

We enjoyed cigars, exchanged stories and established another relationship within the world of gaming and entertainment.

It seemed particularly fitting considering the casino and horse-racing connections that had dominated my summer.

Meadowlands, Jeffrey Gural and a Magazine Cover

After my New Jersey visit, I resumed communicating with my cousin Jeffrey Gural about the film and the historical racing locations that could play an important role in its production.

Our discussions gave me encouragement that Meadowlands might become a potential filming location, subject to the usual production arrangements and approvals.

Around the same time, Buddy Jacobson appeared on the cover of SOUTH FLORIDA Magazine.

Seeing Buddy on the cover of one of my own publications was another satisfying moment. My personal research was rapidly becoming a genuine entertainment and publishing project.

The Motion Picture Website Begins to Expand

I continued developing the official movie website, adding information about the production timeline, financing strategy and casting opportunities.

What had begun as a personal historical investigation was evolving into a formal motion picture development effort.

Ken Evseroff and the Attorney Who Represented Buddy

Labor Day brought an important conversation with Manhattan personality and broadcaster Ken Evseroff.

Ken is the son of Jack Evseroff, the prominent New York criminal defense attorney who represented Buddy Jacobson.

We immediately got along, and during our conversation we discussed the possibility of Ken portraying his own father in the film. I welcomed the idea.

There is something particularly compelling about a son portraying his father in a historically based movie.

Ken also shared private recollections that added to my understanding of the personalities involved. Some of those conversations will remain confidential.

Later that evening, I met my friend Jeff Moss at Ocean Manor's tiki bar. We enjoyed Macallan 18 and fine cigars while discussing business, filmmaking and his tobacco operations in the Dominican Republic.

Another day, another remarkable collection of connections.

Steakhouses, Cigars and a Sopranos Landmark

The final day of my New York and New Jersey excursion began with a visit to Steve's Sizzlin Steaks, a longtime New Jersey establishment dating back to 1936.

My friend and racehorse owner Gary Bonacci had recommended it.

Later, I stopped at Cigar Emporium in Lyndhurst, followed by a visit to the famous Pizza Land, widely recognized from the opening credits of The Sopranos.

I took photographs, met some interesting people and enjoyed soaking up the local atmosphere.

A planned jazz lounge stop near LaGuardia proved less convenient than expected, so I headed for the airport. After a delayed flight, I finally returned to Fort Lauderdale in the early morning.

Returning to Buddy Jacobson's New York

This was one of the most important research days of my life.

I arrived at LaGuardia Airport and began my morning with a visit to an Italian ice establishment associated with Nicola Benfarimo in Queens.

From there, I traveled to Manhattan's Upper East Side to visit the East 84th Street building where Buddy Jacobson had lived and where my mother's New York modeling story had unfolded.

Walking through that neighborhood, I felt as though I had stepped into the physical setting of stories I had heard throughout my childhood.

I met the building superintendent, spoke with local business owners and learned more about the surrounding properties.

At one storefront, I found myself wondering whether the space might once have been connected to the My Fair Lady modeling operation.

I also received a message from Melanie Cain, who had contacted my mother after many years.

Helping reconnect two women whose lives had intersected in 1970s Manhattan felt like a small mitzvah.

Madison Avenue, Caviar and Little Italy

After leaving East 84th Street, I walked through the neighborhood and eventually visited Caviar Kaspia at The Mark Hotel.

I enjoyed a salmon brunch, a couple of Japanese beers and conversation with the knowledgeable bar staff.

From there, I traveled to Mulberry Street in Little Italy. I was wearing my usual Italian-inspired attire, including a prominent red cornicello, gold jewelry and a black shirt.

A young man jokingly suggested that I looked like a billionaire and asked what was inside my aluminum Zero Halliburton briefcase.

I told him it contained a billion dollars, then opened it and produced a copy of my book, How to Perform Like a Billionaire.

I gave him a copy. It seemed an appropriate response.

My First Visit to Meadowlands

That evening, I headed to Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey, hoping that I might finally meet Jeffrey Gural in person.

I placed a few wagers using my birthday numbers and actually won. A helpful employee at the betting window explained some of the finer points of wagering.

I then visited the Trotters Club, where I introduced myself to longtime racing enthusiasts and shared information about the movie.

Eventually, a helpful Meadowlands employee introduced me to executive Jason Settlemoir, who was generous with his time.

Jeffrey was elsewhere that evening, but I didn't regard the trip as a disappointment.

After all, his appearance in my family research had already changed my life. Meeting him personally could happen another day.

I ended the evening at Rockafella's, a neighborhood sports bar with an interesting old building and plenty of local character. More conversations, more business cards, and another late night in New Jersey.

Sal Abbatiello, Chazz Palminteri and the Bronx Connection

The day before my New York trip, I watched an interview featuring Jeffrey Gural.

During the conversation, he mentioned Sal Abbatiello, a name I recognized through a close personal connection.

The discussion also reminded me of the horse-racing scenes and gambling personalities depicted in A Bronx Tale, starring Chazz Palminteri.

I had previously been invited to a dinner gathering involving Palminteri. Once again, my professional and social experiences seemed to overlap the world I was researching.

A Birthday Party and an Unexpected Sonny Franzese Connection

I attended a friend's birthday celebration at DeLuca's Chophouse and brought along one of my new movie business cards.

The card featured historical personalities associated with the film's storyline, including Buddy Jacobson, Sonny Franzese and other notable figures.

My friend Charlotte, whom I had known for approximately twelve years, looked at the card and revealed that she had dated Sonny Franzese during the 1970s.

She even showed me photographs from that period.

I was astonished. Through entirely different relationships, I had already encountered other personal and family connections associated with the Franzese circle, including my acquaintance Michael Umile.

Sonny's son Michael had also attended one of my earlier luxury networking events in the Lighthouse Point area many years before.

Each new encounter seemed to reveal another relationship reaching back into Buddy's era.

A Letter to Taki and the Ghosts of Nicola's

While researching historical accounts of New York society, I came across an article by writer and social commentator Taki Theodoracopulos.

His recollections of Nicola's and the social personalities surrounding that legendary establishment immediately caught my attention.

Nicola's was part of Buddy Jacobson's Manhattan world. It was also part of the extraordinary social environment I hoped to recreate in the movie.

I wrote to Taki, introducing myself as the son of Dawn Eve, who had shared a Manhattan apartment with Melanie Cain in the 1970s.

I explained how the movie combined the glamour of Park Avenue, the grit of New York's underworld and the moral complexity of Buddy's life.

I also expressed interest in discussing his recollections, possible collaboration and permission to republish historical material relevant to the film.

In my mind, Buddy was a sort of Gatsby in riding boots: charming, ambitious, mysterious and surrounded by extraordinary people.

The more I studied old Manhattan, the more convinced I became that the atmosphere itself would be one of the movie's most important characters.

A Dream About Rick Rubin

One night, I had an unusually vivid dream in which I was speaking with legendary music producer Rick Rubin about the Buddy Jacobson film.

I had never met Rubin, and at the time I knew relatively little about his remarkable career.

After the dream, I began learning more about his production work and his influence across several generations of music.

I found myself considering how important the film's soundtrack would be in recreating New York between the 1960s and the 1980s.

Later, I discovered additional horse-related musical references involving artists associated with Rubin.

Whether the dream means anything remains an open question. But it certainly reinforced my determination to pursue exceptional talent in every aspect of the production.

Three Roberts and the Birth of a Motion Picture

Of all the extraordinary coincidences I have experienced, this may be the most important.

My book, How to Perform Like a Billionaire, had been published only a few weeks earlier.

I decided to conduct a book signing at Matteo's Trattoria in Hallandale Beach, one of my favorite Italian restaurants.

I was standing at the bar, signing a copy for a gentleman named Robert, when another man approached.

This second gentleman also happened to be named Robert. He was a talented crooner who bore a striking resemblance to Robert De Niro in his younger years.

We began talking about my book, horse racing and Buddy Jacobson.

Suddenly, he suggested that I follow him down the bar to meet someone.

We walked approximately three bar stools away, where he introduced me to yet another gentleman named Robert.

Three Roberts, one restaurant, one afternoon.

The third Robert was a distinguished racehorse owner. As we discussed my book, I mentioned Howard "Buddy" Jacobson.

His reaction was extraordinary. He had known Buddy personally and had been one of his closest childhood friends.

He began showing me photographs of himself with Buddy, including pictures from their younger years.

I could scarcely believe what was happening. Only six weeks earlier, I had discovered the connection between Buddy Jacobson, my mother's modeling career and my cousin Jeffrey Gural.

Now, entirely by chance, I was sitting beside a man who had actually grown up with Buddy and knew him intimately.

Robert also had connections with other personalities who were becoming central to my research, including figures associated with the Franzese family.

That afternoon was the moment when my fascination with Buddy's life became something much greater.

I drove home from Matteo's, turned on my computer and registered BuddyJacobsonMovie.com.

Before these experiences, filmmaking had never been one of my personal ambitions. I was a publisher, businessman and event producer, not someone actively planning a feature film.

Yet somehow, the project suddenly seemed inevitable.

The story, the historical personalities, the locations and the scale of the production began coming together in my imagination.

I didn't go looking for a movie. The movie found me.

That is still the best way I can describe it.

The Billionaire Cousin, the Horse Trainer and the Discovery That Changed Everything

This is where the story truly begins.

In the spring of 2025, I decided to investigate my maternal ancestry through a DNA test.

At roughly the same time, I had resumed writing a book about success, wealth and the habits of extraordinary businesspeople.

I had started the book years earlier and set it aside. In late May and early June, I returned to the manuscript with renewed enthusiasm.

On June 12, the DNA results arrived.

I began reviewing the names of maternal relatives, many of whom were members of successful Jewish-American families.

My grandmother Faith had told me stories about interesting people in our family tree, including a playwright. I was curious to see what else I might discover.

After researching several relatives, I noticed the surname Gural.

One of my DNA matches was Jeffrey Gural, the prominent New York real estate investor, philanthropist and horse-racing executive.

This immediately caught my attention. I was writing a book about wealthy entrepreneurs and successful businesspeople, and here was a newly discovered family connection to one of New York's best-known real estate and racing personalities.

I investigated the history of the Gural family's real estate businesses, including their involvement with significant Manhattan properties and the development of Knickerbocker Village.

I also learned more about Jeffrey's racing interests and philanthropic work, including his connection to the Gural JCC on Long Island.

Given my own growing interest in Jewish family history, I found these discoveries personally meaningful.

Then I visited the corporate timeline on the family's real estate website.

I explored the earlier decades and clicked into the 1970s.

There, in a historical photograph, was Jeffrey Gural alongside a familiar name from my mother's past: Buddy Jacobson.

I was stunned.

Buddy had been connected with my mother's New York modeling career during the 1970s. He was associated with Melanie Cain's My Fair Lady modeling agency, the same social world my mother had described throughout my life.

My mother and I came from northern Minnesota, far removed from the skyscrapers, racetracks and glamorous nightclubs of Manhattan.

Yet the prominent New York businessman I had just discovered through my DNA results had a historical business connection with the man who had played such an unusual role in my mother's life.

What were the odds?

I had been casually discussing Buddy and my mother's modeling days for years. Now the old stories had suddenly become part of my own family history.

The discovery energized me enormously. I began working on my book with a level of dedication I had rarely experienced.

Some days I worked twelve or fifteen hours. On one particularly intense day, I worked almost twenty-two hours.

I completed and published the book on June 30, 2025, just in time for my birthday on July 1.

Less than a month later, I would encounter Buddy's childhood friend at Matteo's Trattoria, and the idea for the movie would take hold.

In a matter of weeks, my interests in publishing, family history, high society, entrepreneurship and horse racing had converged into a single project.

I had no way of knowing just how far that project would take me.