Thirty-five years after New Jack City changed Hollywood, Mario Van Peebles is still at it — and this conversation proves exactly why.

In this episode of NAACP+ Inside the Industry, host Ariana Drummond sits down with actor, director, writer, and producer Mario Van Peebles for one of the most wide-ranging, genuinely funny, and deeply important conversations in the series so far.

Mario gets into:

→ What it felt like to direct New Jack City for Warner Brothers at the same time his father, Melvin, made Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song the top-grossing independent hit of 1971 — twenty years apart, same game

→ The iconic turkey giveaway scene that almost didn't happen — and how a warehouse fire, rain, and some street hustle made it legendary

→ Why he cast Ice-T as the cop and Wesley Snipes as the gangster — and how he had to convince them both

→ How playing his own father in Baadasssss was  "psychotherapy on celluloid"

→ The two questions he asked Melvin in the Mojave Desert after graduating from Columbia — and the answers that shaped everything

→ What his father taught him about joy, bitterness, and why "pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional"

→ His philosophy on building a 40-year career: love what you do, work with people you love, say something you love

→ Why Black storytellers controlling their own imagery is the most urgent issue in entertainment right now

→ The Huxtables, Obama, and the direct line between what we see on screen and what we believe is possible

→ Directing Nemesis for Netflix, Power's Raising Kanan, and what keeps him coming back to the Power universe

→ Why AI will never replace what happened on Lenox Avenue the day everything went wrong

→ His advice to every aspiring filmmaker, actor, and creative watching right now

This is the episode for anyone who has ever wondered what it means to build a legacy — and fight to protect it at the same time.

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

Guest: Mario Van Peebles — New Jack City, Posse, Panther, Baadasssss, Roots, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, Nemesis

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 

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#InsideTheIndustry #NAACPPlus #MarioVanPeebles #NewJackCity #MelvinVanPeebles #BlackCinema #PowerRaisingKanan #Nemesis #BlackDirectors #ArianaDrummond #BlackStorytelling #BlackExcellence #HollywoodInsider #BlackCreatives

Before Beyoncé was Beyoncé. Before Jamie Foxx was Jamie Foxx.Before Halle Berry won her Oscar. Someone saw them first. That someone is Robi Reed — and in this episode of NAACP+ Inside the Industry, she finally steps into the spotlight.

Host Ariana Drummond sits down with Emmy Award-winning casting director and producer Robi Reed — one of two Black women in history to win an Emmy for casting, a Hampton University alumna, and the woman responsible for some of the most culturally defining films and television in Black Hollywood history.

Robi breaks down:

→ What a casting director actually does — from breakdown to callback to chemistry read

→ How she started calling herself a casting director at 15 before she ever became one, and why that mindset matters

→ The night she introduced Spike Lee to Ruth E. Carter and how that one moment changed everything

→ What it was like to cast School Daze, Malcolm X, Do the Right Thing, Love Jones, Set It Off, Soul Food, The Best Man, For Colored Girls, and all 125 episodes of In Living Color

→ Why casting is the first act of storytelling — and what happens when Black casting directors aren't in the room

→ The BET Experience Open Casting Call she created and why she built it

→ The biggest mistakes talented people make when they finally get in the room

→ Her audition advice: if it's not going right, just stop and start again — you don't need permission

→ What she would tell her younger self during every moment of self-doubt

→ Why you should never want to be the smartest person in the room

→ The Don King project that almost made her quit — and what stopped her

→ What she hopes never changes about the role of the casting director

This is the episode for every actor, every aspiring creative, and every person who has ever wondered who really decides who gets to be a star.

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

Guest: Robi Reed — Emmy Award-winning Casting Director

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 

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#InsideTheIndustry #NAACPPlus #RobiReed #CastingDirector #BlackHollywood #ArianaDrummond #BlackCreatives

Most people have watched the NAACP Image Awards for years without knowing his name. Tony McCuin is the director who makes it all happen — and in this episode, he finally steps out from behind the camera.

In this episode of NAACP+ Inside the Industry, host Ariana Drummond sits down with an award-winning live television director, Tony McCuin — the man behind the NAACP Image Awards, Password with Keke Palmer, Big Brother, the Super Bowl, BET's Celebration of Gospel, Soul Train Awards, and over 50 major productions — for one of the most behind-the-scenes conversations we've ever had.

Tony breaks down:

→ What a live TV director actually does during a telecast while the show is happening in real time

→ Why the NAACP Image Awards "just hit different" and how he shoots it almost entirely in the round

→ The night Whitney Houston walked out, and he couldn't take the camera off her — not for a single reaction shot

→ What it felt like to be the first Black man directing Password — TV history in real time

→ How Big Brother taught him to let the audience pick the shots they wanted to see

→ The Deon Cole and Leslie Jones moment that went viral — and how he set it up in advance

→ His philosophy on protecting your talent – no matter what

→ Why he treats every act like its own separate little show

→ How he went from South Central to public access cable to the Super Bowl without ever going to college

→ "Pray Rich" — his spiritual philosophy that has carried him through 40+ years in television

→ The team of angels around him that keeps him going

This is the episode for every aspiring director, camera operator, and behind-the-camera creative who has ever wondered what it really looks like to command a live set.

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

Guest: Tony McCuin — NAACP Image Awards, Password, Big Brother, Super Bowl, BET Celebration of Gospel, Soul Train Awards

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

️ Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3iny4YTd9NfUBB51aWOpYr?si=a5a8e1df47ba4084

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

Watch the full playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaaTUaaxeh-IBd36D0P3FzFcu17Ij2S4T&si=nge5yZhBmU8SIZ9D 

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

Follow Tony McCuin: https://www.instagram.com/tonymccuin/

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#InsideTheIndustry #NAACPPlus #TonyMcCuin #LiveTV #NaacpImageAwards #BlackDirectors #BehindTheCamera #Password #BigBrother #WhitneyHouston #ArianaDrummond #BlackCreatives #TVDirector #EntertainmentIndustry #BlackExcellence

Algee Smith has never played it safe — and this conversation proves exactly why that's his superpower.

From sleeping on a friend's couch in North Hollywood, surviving on El Pollo Loco and 7-Eleven Slurpees, to booking the New Edition Story AND Detroit in the same month — Algee's journey is one of radical faith, relentless study, and a refusal to shrink. In this episode of NAACP+ Inside the Industry, host Ariana Drummond sits down with the actor, recording artist, and NAACP Image Award nominee to talk craft, ownership, representation, and what it really takes to build a career across two industries.

In this episode, we unpack:

→ How Algee chooses roles — and why the script always comes first

→ Working with Jamie Foxx on Netflix's Fight for 84 and what he learned watching Jamie set the tone on set with a boombox

→ The story behind his EP Love Lost — the breakup, the healing, and why men needed to hear it

→ Flying from Atlanta to Connecticut just to track down clearance for a sample on 'Spiraling.'

→ What it felt like to book New Edition and Detroit while broke and days away from flying home

→ How playing both a Black Panther and a cop forced him to wrestle with his own identity

→ His tribute to late co-star James Van Der Beek and the gems shared in an RV between scenes

→ The real difference between working on Black-led sets versus majority-white productions

→ Why ownership is legacy — and why he's never signing another deal without equity

→ Practical advice on contracts, AI, community building, and protecting your peace in Hollywood

Subscribe to NAACP+ 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

Follow Algee Smith: https://www.instagram.com/itsalgee/ https://youtube.com/@itsalgee?si=se6LrU3mfdh-2oxu

Follow Ariana Drummond: https://www.instagram.com/arianad_pr/

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What does it actually take to shape the careers of Hollywood's biggest stars — and survive the chaos behind the scenes? Veteran publicist Shannon Barr pulls back the curtain on 20+ years in entertainment PR, from her early days at ICM to managing crises at 3 am, losing client John Singleton, and what it really costs to get the press you deserve.

In this episode, Shannon covers:

→ How she got her start — and the friend named Caprice who changed everything

→ The toxic ICM boss she finally quit on (out loud, by accident)

→ Why braids cost her job opportunities and the racism she faced climbing Hollywood's ladder

→ What publicists actually do during a celebrity crisis (yes, the Will Smith slap comes up)

→ Why PR is a marathon, not a sprint — and what that means for your career

→ The real cost of hiring a publicist and why boutique pricing matters

→ Her 20-year relationship with Kenya Moore and why she fell in love with her instantly

→ The deeply emotional story of losing John Singleton and writing his final statement

→ How she represented Damson Idris, Isaiah John, and Malcolm Mays as emerging talent

→ What she wants her legacy to be as a star maker

️ 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 

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

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

Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/naacpplus/

Follow Shannon Barr: https://www.instagram.com/sbarr06/?hl=en

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What does it actually take to build a two-decade career in entertainment journalism — across NBC's Today Show, Hot 97, Essence, Access Hollywood, BET, and the Met Gala red carpet with Rihanna?

In this episode of NAACP+'s Inside the Industry, host ArianaDrummond sits down with her close friend and NAACP Image Awards-nominated journalist, podcaster, and host Gia Peppers for one of the most candid, funny, and genuinely inspiring conversations in the series so far.

Gia breaks down:

→ How she went from overnight shifts at CBS Radio News to   the Met Gala carpet — and what happened in between

→ What her dad's 23 years at NPR taught her about   storytelling before she ever stepped into a newsroom

→ How she co-created Black Girl Podcast before Black women   podcasting was even a thing — and what it feels like to have built a blueprint you don't always get credit for

→ What it was really like interviewing Rihanna, Kobe Bryant, and Vice President Kamala Harris

→ How to navigate microaggressions as a Black woman in media without losing your voice or your career

→ Why she did the New York to D.C. commute for four years straight while working at Hot 97, Essence, and hosting   for the Washington Wizards simultaneously

→ The pay equity conversation that changed how she thinks about negotiating forever

→ Why she's launching Creatives of Faith — and what it means to keep creatives on assignment from God

→ The state of Black media right now and what we all need to do about it

→ Why dragging the rooms you want to be in is her most unpopular industry opinion

Plus — her most honest reflection on legacy, what she still wants to build, and the moment at her friend's funeral that made her decide to go all the way in on her dreams.

This is the episode for every aspiring journalist, content creator, and Black woman trying to take up space in an industry that wasn't built for her.

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

Guest: Gia Peppers — Today Show, Hot 97, Essence, More Than   That with Gia Peppers, Healed Girl Era, Black Girl Podcast

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 

Follow NAACP+: https://linktr.ee/NAACPPlus

If your film has been rejected by festival after festival, this episode is going to change how you think about everything.

In this episode of NAACP+'s Inside the Industry, host Ariana Drummond sits down with Kimberley Browning — veteran film programmer, festival director, and Senior Associate Short Film Programmer for the Tribeca Film Festival — to pull back the curtain on how film festivals actually work, what programmers are really looking for, and the costly mistakes filmmakers make that have nothing to do with the quality of their films.

Kimberley breaks down:

→ How programmers actually decide which films get selected

→ Why most festival rejections have nothing to do with your filmmaking

→ The biggest mistake filmmakers make when building a festival strategy

→ Why you should stop obsessing over the top 10 festivals you can name

→ How to build a festival strategy unique to the film you actually made

→ What really happens after your film gets accepted to a major festival

→ How to qualify for the Oscars without spending thousands of dollars

→ The insider tip on completion dates that most filmmakers don't know

→ Why submitting a rough cut could cost you more than just this festival

→ How film festivals are evolving in the streaming era

→ What the rise of virtual festivals means for filmmakers worldwide

→ The one music licensing mistake that's killing independent films

Plus — Kimberley shares the story of the film that helped a woman get clemency, why rejection letters are not commentary on your talent, and what she wants her legacy in this industry to be. This is the episode every filmmaker needs to watch before their next submission. Period.

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

Guest: Kimberley Browning — Tribeca Film Festival, HBO, AFI, ABFF

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 

Follow NAACP+: https://linktr.ee/NAACPPlus

#InsideTheIndustry #NAACPPlus #FilmFestival #TribecaFilmFestival#IndependentFilm #Filmmaking #BlackFilmmakers #FilmFestivalStrategy#KimberleyBrowning #ArianaDrummond #ShortFilms #IndieFilm#FilmDistribution #BlackCreatives #OscarQualifying

What does it actually take to become a working television writer in Hollywood?

In this episode of NAACP+'s Inside the Industry, host Ariana Drummond sits down with writer and producer Chuck Hayward — whose credits include Ted Lasso, WandaVision, and Dear White People — for one of the most honest conversations we've had about the realities of building a writing career.

Chuck breaks down:

→ How TV writers actually get staffed on shows

→ The difference between a spec script and a pilot (and which one to write first)

→ What showrunners are really looking for when they read your script

→ How to handle notes without killing your creative vision

→ The mistakes that quietly stall careers — even for talented writers

→ Why the streaming bubble burst changed everything for writers

→ How to stay competitive when the industry is shrinking

Plus, Chuck shares the writing philosophy that drives everything he does: more Black weirdos on screen. And why writing authentically — not to the market— is the only strategy that actually works long term. Whether you're an aspiring writer, a creative trying to break in, or someone already in the industry looking to level up, this episode is your blueprint.

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

Guest: Chuck Hayward — Ted Lasso, WandaVision, Dear White People

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

Watch more Inside the Industry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnLI7v57zoc&list=PLaaTUaaxeh-IBd36D0P3FzFcu17Ij2S4T&pp=sAgC

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3iny4YTd9NfUBB51aWOpYr?si=8657ebed5b5049ed 

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

Follow NAACP+: https://linktr.ee/NAACPPlus

#InsideTheIndustry #NAACPPlus #TVWriter #HowToBeAWriter#BreakingIntoHollywood #Screenwriting #TedLasso #WandaVision#BlackCreatives #EntertainmentIndustry #ChuckHayward #ArianaDrummond

DeVon Franklin rose from intern to executive producer in Hollywood—but how did that actually happen?

In this episode of NAACP+ Inside the Industry, DeVon Franklin—producer behind films like "The Pursuit of Happyness," "Moneyball," and "The Karate Kid"—shares what it really takes to grow in this business, navigate opportunity, and build a career with purpose.

We'll cover topics such as:

- What it takes to stand out early in your career

- What ownership means in today’s entertainment industry

- Where the biggest opportunities are for creatives right now

From studio systems to independent production, this conversation breaks down what it takes to create and lead projects at the highest level of filmmaking.

About Devon Franklin:

Devon Franklin is a producer, author, and former studio executive at Columbia Pictures. His work spans major box office films, faith-based storytelling, and independent production, with a focus on purpose-driven content and long-term impact.

Subscribe to NAACP+ Inside the Industry for weekly conversations with leaders across film, television, and digital media.

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The making of a fashion powerhouse—how does a designer go from starting out to dressing Hollywood’s biggest stars?

Brandon Gray has built a brand that commands attention on the red carpet—from the NAACP Image Awards to the Oscars and the Met Gala. But behind those moments is a story of persistence, strategy, and learning how to build in an industry that rarely gives you a clear path.

In this episode of NAACP+ Inside the Industry, Brandon Gray breaks down how he turned House of Gray into a sought-after fashion brand, how he broke into the industry without connections, and what it really takes to build something that lasts in fashion.

We'll also cover:
- What it takes to dress high-profile clients
- How to turn talent into a real business
- How designers can stay relevant as fashion evolves

If you’re a designer, creative, or entrepreneur trying to build something of your own, this conversation gives you a real look at what it takes to go from starting out to becoming a recognized name.

About Brandon Gray:
Brandon Gray is the founder of House of Gray, a fashion brand known for dressing top talent at major events, including Colman Domingo, Tyler Perry, and Niecy Nash.

Subscribe to NAACP+ Inside the Industry for weekly conversations with leaders across film, television, fashion, and digital media.

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