What does it take to run a show in real time, in front of 3,000 people, with no second takes?

In this episode of NAACP+ Inside the Industry, host Ariana Drummond sits down with Jeff Atlas, Emmy-nominated producer and founder of Backhand Productions. Jeff has produced Olympic ceremonies, NBA All-Star events, inaugurations, music festivals, and award shows including the NAACP Image Awards Creative Honors and After Party. He breaks down how live production actually works, from the first budget call to the moment the curtain goes up.

Jeff gets into:

→ The secret phone call that put him behind Stevie Wonder's surprise performance at the Met Gala

→ The night a gospel tribute to Pastor Jamal Bryant turned the Image Awards Creative Honors into a full church moment

→ Starting as a runner at Dick Clark Productions with zero connections and a paper Thomas Guide

→ Watching Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, and Kirk Franklin rehearse at the AMAs and getting hooked for life

→ How he picks projects, and the kinds of shows he'll never do

→ His Emmy nomination for three hours of live television on PBS

→ What really happens backstage when talent doesn't show up

→ Why staying calm in the eye of the storm is his superpower

→ What a producer actually does (think COO of the show)

→ Budgets, cost reports, and why money doesn't guarantee a good show

→ How to break in today, and why a handwritten thank-you note still works

→ The hardest lesson of owning a company: you never stop hustling

→ AI, short-form clips and the live events boom

→ Faith, integrity, and playing the long game

This episode is for anyone who's ever watched an awards show and wondered who's making it all happen.

️ Host: Ariana Drummond, NAACP Director of Talent & Media Relations

Guest: Jeff Atlas, Emmy-nominated Producer & Founder, Backhand Productions

New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe so you never miss one.

Watch more Inside the Industry:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaaTUaaxeh-IBd36D0P3FzFcu17Ij2S4T

Listen on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/3iny4YTd9NfUBB51aWOpYr?si=8657ebed5b5049ed&nd=1&dlsi=316fca0df52b4a1e

Listen on Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/naacp-inside-the-industry/id1894940807

Learn more about NAACP+:

https://linktr.ee/NAACPPlus

#InsideTheIndustry #NAACPPlus #JeffAtlas #LiveProduction #EventProducer #ImageAwards #BackstagePass #ArianaDrummond #BlackCreatives #TVProduction #MetGala #ProducerLife

• (00:00:00) - Why Money Doesn't Guarantee a Good Show
• (00:00:31) - Welcome & Introduction
• (00:01:40) - The Secret Stevie Wonder Met Gala Call
• (00:03:01) - The Creative Honors Church Moment
• (00:06:36) - What's Next: The National Urban League Conference
• (00:08:11) - Mentors, Dick Clark & Getting Hooked at the AMAs
• (00:11:53) - How He Picks Projects (and What He'll Never Do)
• (00:14:29) - The Emmy Nomination: 3 Hours Live on PBS
• (00:15:27) - When Talent Doesn't Show Up & Staying Calm Under Pressure
• (00:19:23) - The Rush of a Live Show and When Things Go Wrong
• (00:22:31) - What a Live Producer Actually Does
• (00:27:59) - Live Production vs. TV and Film
• (00:31:00) - Client Vision, Budgets & Cost Reports
• (00:34:35) - Breaking In With Zero Connections & the Handwritten Note
• (00:40:09) - The Hardest Lesson: You Never Stop Hustling
• (00:45:21) - AI, Short Form & the Live Events Boom
• (00:52:09) - Legacy, Integrity & Faith
• (00:54:45) - Inside Your Industry Bag (Game)

Every year, millions of people watch the NAACP Image Awards and celebrate Black excellence in entertainment. But have you ever wondered how it all actually comes together?

In this episode of NAACP+ Inside the Industry, host Ariana Drummond sits down with Robin Harrison — Vice President of the NAACP Hollywood Bureau and the woman who has been producing the NAACP Image Awards for over 22 years — for an inside look at the Image Awards like never before.

Robin breaks down:

→ How submissions actually work and what every filmmaker, creator, and label needs to know before the deadline

→ What the nominating committee is, who's on it, and how nominees are actually selected → Why there is absolutely no grace period on the submission deadline — and what happens in the two weeks after it closes

→ The full Image Awards Week calendar — from the nominees luncheon to the fashion show to the after-party — and why it's so much more than just one night

→ How the Hollywood Bureau operates with a team of 6 to produce one of the biggest nights in Black entertainment

→ Why the Image Awards was created in the early 60s and why it is more necessary now than ever

→ What makes the Image Awards different from every other award show — including the Oscars, the Emmys, and the Grammys

→ The resources the Hollywood Bureau offers to filmmakers and creators of color right now

→ The Viola Davis moment that Robin says she will never forget and why it captures exactly why she does this work

→ What she hopes the Image Awards looks like in another 60 years

This episode is for every creator, filmmaker, and industry professional who has ever wanted to know what's really going on behind the curtain.

️ Host: Ariana Drummond, NAACP Director of Talent & Media Relations

Guest: Robin Harrison — Vice President, NAACP Hollywood Bureau; 22-Year Producer, NAACP Image Awards

New episodes every other Wednesday. Subscribe so you never miss one.

Watch more Inside the Industry: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaaTUaaxeh-IBd36D0P3FzFcu17Ij2S4T

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3iny4YTd9NfUBB51aWOpYr?si=8657ebed5b5049ed&nd=1&dlsi=316fca0df52b4a1e

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/naacp-inside-the-industry/id1894940807

Learn more about NAACP+: https://linktr.ee/NAACPPlus

#InsideTheIndustry #NAACPPlus #RobinHarrison #NaacpImageAwards #ImageAwards #BlackExcellence #HollywoodBureau #ArianaDrummond #BlackCreatives #ImageAwards58 #BlackEntertainment #NaacpHollywood #AwardsSubmissions #BlackAwards #representationmatters

• (00:00:00) - Opening: Why the Image Awards Still Matters
• (00:00:24) - Welcome & Introduction
• (00:01:17) - Being a Producer Who's Now in Front of the Camera
• (00:01:41) - 22 Years at the Image Awards and What Has Changed the Most
• (00:03:29) - What Robin Harrison Actually Does: The Hollywood Bureau Explained
• (00:04:29) - How She Got Here: From D.C. Event Producer to NAACP Full Time
• (00:06:34) - Why the Image Awards Exists and What Makes It Different From Every Other Show
• (00:09:15) - Submissions: How It Works, Deadlines, and How to Make Your Project Stand Out
• (00:12:15) - From Nominations to Show Night: The Full Timeline Explained
• (00:13:55) - Image Awards Week: Every Event From Start to Finish
• (00:16:02) - What Is Actually Running Through Her Mind on Show Night
• (00:18:29) - Why the Image Awards Feels Like a Family Reunion
• (00:19:27) - The Resources the Hollywood Bureau Offers Creators Right Now
• (00:21:20) - Legacy, Growth & What 22 Years of This Work Has Built
• (00:23:06) - Advice for Creators Who Don't Think Their Project Can Compete
• (00:25:58) - The Moment She Will Never Forget and Why She Does This Work
• (00:28:04) - Inside Your Industry Bag (Game)

He wasn't trying to become famous. Juju Green was working in advertising, talking about movies to anyone who would listen. And one night, his TikTok about Tom Holland breaking character in Avengers: Endgame went viral. That was just the beginning.

In this episode of NAACP+ Inside the Industry, host Ariana Drummond sits down with film critic, creator, podcaster, and voice actor Juju Green — better known as Straw Hat Goofy — for one of the most fun, honest, and genuinely insightful conversations in the series about what it actually takes to build a career out of pure passion in the digital age.

Juju gets into: → his love for film starting in his childhood — and how that became the foundation of everything he’s built → How he decides which films are worth his time to watch and review → Conversations with Ryan Coogler and Steven Spielberg— and why their cosign is the credential he's most proud of → Landing a debut voice acting role in Ruby Gilman: Teenage Kraken → Why knowing what you're NOT is just as important as knowing what you ARE → Signing with CAA and the advice he gives every independent creator about building a team → The debate over creators vs. journalists on red carpets → How TikTok, iHeartMedia, and what he’s building is all part of a bigger plan → What keeps him going when the algorithm is not cooperating, and the numbers aren't there

This episode is for every creator who's been told that what you've been building isn't enough to be a real career.

️ Host: Ariana Drummond, NAACP Director of Talent & Media Relations

Guest: Juju Green (Straw Hat Goofy) — Film Critic, Content Creator, Podcaster, Voice Actor; iHeartMedia, CAA

New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe so you never miss one.

Watch more Inside the Industry:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaaTUaaxeh-IBd36D0P3FzFcu17Ij2S4T

Listen on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/3iny4YTd9NfUBB51aWOpYr?si=8657ebed5b5049ed&nd=1&dlsi=316fca0df52b4a1e

Listen on Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/naacp-inside-the-industry/id1894940807

Learn more about NAACP+: https://linktr.ee/NAACPPlus

#InsideTheIndustry #NAACPPlus #JujuGreen #StrawHatGoofy #FilmCritic #contentcreatortips #BlackCreators #TikTokFilm #ArianaDrummond #BlackCreatives #GetReelPodcast #iHeartMedia #CAA #BlackExcellence #MovieCritic

• (00:00:00) - Opening: Chase Integrity, Not the Algorithm
• (00:00:30) - Welcome & Introduction
• (00:01:57) - The Origin of Straw Hat Goofy and Where the Name Actually Came From
• (00:03:24) - Half a Million Followers, Red Carpets & Ryan Coogler — Did He Ever See This Coming?
• (00:05:10) - From Advertising Copywriter to Viral TikToker: How It Actually Happened
• (00:07:31) - Building a Team, Signing With CAA & Advice for Independent Black Creators
• (00:15:32) - Algorithm vs. Passion: Why He Walked Away From Spider-Verse Virality
• (00:20:56) - The Real Work Behind Making Content and Managing the Comment Section
• (00:22:42) - Creators vs. Journalists on Red Carpets: Where He Actually Stands
• (00:27:00) - His First Film Role: Ruby Gilman, One Line, 45 Minutes in a Booth & Jane Fonda
• (00:32:28) - Future-Proofing Your Career When Platforms Can Disappear Overnight
• (00:34:13) - The Press Trip Story: What She Said, What He Said, and the Hyena
• (00:38:25) - The Economics of Influencer Pay and Why It's More Complicated Than You Think
• (00:41:38) - Get Reel Podcast, His Favorite Guest & What Hosting Taught Him About Himself
• (00:46:38) - What Keeps Him Going When Nothing Is Working
• (00:47:49) - Inside Your Industry Bag (Game)