DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
Grammys Get Something New: A Dress Code
© NaimaLett.com/blog



Fergie, Rihanna & Toni! source


CBS is cracking down on the Grammys this year. Literally.

The highly-watched network, which just hosted the Super Bowl, has issued an email for Sunday’s Grammy participants to cover all cracks, bloops and blunders!

Apparently, somebody was not happy about that.

So, they did what any respectable Hollywood rep would do: leaked the email to the press.

I find this fascinating, so I’m going to share some of it with you.

SUBJECT:
55th GRAMMYS: Standard And Practice Wardrobe Advisory

CBS Program Practices advises that all talent appearing on camera please adhere to Network policy concerning wardrobe… Please be sure that buttocks and female breasts are adequately covered. Thong type costumes are problematic. Please avoid exposing bare fleshy under curves of the buttocks and buttock crack. Bare sides or under curvature of the breasts is also problematic. Please avoid sheer see-through clothing that could possibly expose female breast. Please be sure the genital region is adequately covered so that there is no visible “puffy” bare skin exposure. Please avoid commercial identification of actual brand name products on T-shirts. Foreign language on wardrobe will need to be cleared. OBSCENITY OR PARTIALLY SEEN OBSCENITY ON WARDROBE IS UNACCEPTABLE FOR BROADCAST. This as well, pertains to audience members that appear on camera. Finally, The Network requests that any organized cause visibly spelled out on talent’s wardrobe be avoided. This would include lapel pins or any other form of accessory.

Leave Anything Out?

What is hilarious to me is that we have entered a time when a network actually has to say, “Thong type costumes are problematic” and “Please avoid buttock cracks”.

Fam, my apologies if this offends you. That’s not my intent at all. We even covered the photo above. I’m just trying to make a point: I think we’ve entered into the absurd… and for an awards show, no doubt.

Times Are Hard

Times must really be hard for artists to show up on the red carpet in thongs and “puffy” bare skin. Folks must really not trust their ability to sing and entertain anymore to garner fans and record sales. Or maybe it’s just a music industry thing.

Nobody has to send out a notice like this for the Academy Awards. Just saying. LOL!

A Little Modesty Goes A Long Way

I’m no prude. I like fashion, and I appreciate folks looking good. I think what CBS is trying to communicate is that a little bit of modesty goes a long way.

Paul expressed to Timothy in 1 Tim 2:9-10, that he wanted women to dress modestly with decency and propriety with with good deeds appropriate for women who profess to worship God. A lot of time has transpired between the first century AD and now and standards of modesty and decency have long changed, but I think we can all agree that public thongs and boob exposure are not be considered modest.

CBS Double Standard

I gotta be honest: I watch more of the Hollywood award shows pertaining to film and television. But Kevin watches all of the music shows and calls me in if something gets interesting. So, if somebody shows up in an egg or dressed as a Roman Catholic priest, I’m sure to hear about it.

All that I can say about the CBS email is “Good luck enforcing it!” and I think Beyonce and her entourage of dancers during the Super Bowl half-time show missed your memo last weekend.

Onward and Upward, Fam,
Naima

What do you think?
RESPOND ON BLOG
Comment below, or
Facebook or
Twitter – @naimalett

© 2013 Naima Lett. All Rights Reserved

http://www.facebook.com/hollywoodchristian
Tweets by NaimaLett

NAIMA LETT – BLOG – FAITH & HOLLYWOOD
© NaimaLett.com/blog

Justin Bieber
[UPDATE]
Friday, January 31, 2014

Hi Fam,

Entertainment news this week post-Grammys and pre-Super Bowl heavily focused on our fellow artist and faith fam Justin Bieber. As he experiences major growing pains, on the world’s stage, I thought it helpful to re-release this blog about Justin that I wrote this same time last year (Grammys).

As artists and shepherds of artists, we (along with many of our close friends here in Hollywood) love Justin and artists just like him/us who named the Name of Jesus in our youth. We ask you to join us in prayer with compassion for Justin as if he’s our own family, because he is. Let’s pray for him as we would our own child and brother, like folks prayed for us during our own young adult adventures. And let’s thank God social media wasn’t around yet to post our exploits every time we could’ve made the news for questionable choices. :=)

Always good to hear from you, and Happy Super Bowl. For those who asked who I’m rooting for? The Winner, of course!
Lots of love from the LaLa,
Naima

Justin Bieber with mom Pattie Mallette, American Music Awards, © Jordan Strauss, AP, source

Hollywood (and millions of tweens) are all a’flutter.

Pop star Justin Bieber made history by becoming the youngest artist to achieve 5 #1 albums atop Billboard’s Top 200 Chart before turning 19.

His album, Believe Acoustic, sealed the historical record during Music’s biggest week leading up to the Grammy Awards; though Justin will be skipping the awards this year after hosting SNL this weekend. No doubt his 34 million+ Twitter followers (the most of anyone), 50 million+ Facebook followers, & 3.4 billion YouTube video viewers are all celebrating.

Justin’s Faith

Justin has been vocal about his faith as a Christian over the years in interviews, his film/documentary and pilgrimage to Israel. Upon turning 18, recent media reports and pics have caused some to voice their concern over whether he’s staying on the path.

Do You Remember 18?

I have just one question, “Do you remember 18?”

I am sooooooo glad I didn’t have hundreds of millions of people following me at 18 while I was trying to figure out who I was as an adult and how to walk out my faith. I had been baptized as a child, but it wasn’t until my mother passed away when I was a sophomore in college that my faith became real to me, and I understood who God is, and my relationship with Jesus solidified. And all of that happened behind closed doors… not with paparazzi chasing me down the 101 or fans snapping iPhone pics chronicling my every move. Goodness!

Your Teens

And parents, “Do you remember when your child turned 18 or any teen, for that matter?”

Didn’t we become, like, alien to you? I’m sure there were times when my dad and mom looked at each other and wondered if they had actually given birth to me and my brothers once we hit our teens. We grew up in a Christian home with 2 Christian leaders as parents and a long legacy of church leaders and preachers; yet, we made a LOT of mistakes along the way to the pulpits we’re now entrusted to serve from. And our parents, didn’t you hang in there with us?

Our Expectations

So, why, Fam, do we have different expectations for Pattie Mallette’s 18-year old son? Because he’s a superstar? Can we pray for Justin as we have prayed for our own teenagers? Can you pray for him like you prayed for me?

Pattie told The Today Show this morning, “It’s tough letting go and letting our kids make the mistakes that they need to make… I have to trust that he’s made good decisions in the past and hopefully he’s learned from some of my mistakes.”

There are family and friends right now who are reading this blog whom, I know, prayed Proverbs 22:6 in faith back to God on my behalf, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Our Prayers

When we see Justin around and about, as he grows up with this very generation he is called to influence and serve, let’s pray in faith back to God on his behalf, “Lord, Your daughter Pattie trained up Your son Justin in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Can we do that?

And we send well wishes to Justin and Pattie and the whole family today. Congratulations on making history.
Go forth,
Naima

What do you think?
RESPOND ON BLOG
Comment below, or
Facebook or
Twitter – @naimalett

© 2013 Naima Lett. All Rights Reserved

DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
Thank You
© NaimaLett.com/blog

Thank you, Fam…

… for all your heartfelt birthday wishes and love sent from near & far yesterday.
Mad appreciation!

It’s moments like these that remind me that the most important part of our lives are our relationships: our relationships with God and our relationships with one another. We are created to love each other, and I am so grateful to experience this journey of love with you.

Loving Each Other

Before His betrayal, Jesus washes His disciples feet, breaks bread with them, and implores them to love each other:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35

Loving each other is so crucial that Jesus says everyone will know that we are His disciples by how we love one another. And that love for each other is to be as sacrificial as His is for us.

Your Sacrifices

Many of you, right now, are making sacrifices for your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers, and I want to say “Thank You” on their behalf. God sees you. And others see and know that you are a follower of Christ because of those sacrificial acts of love.

I thanked my husband yesterday, who is not a morning person (AT ALL! :=), but daily makes the tangible sacrifice of love to get up at 2 AM for his gig. That commitment, first to God, then to his family, sure does communicate love.

So, Thank You

So, hear this from me today: You are appreciated. You are treasured. And your sacrifices have not gone unnoticed. Your love is evident and true and it’s a witness to a turbulent world who’s searching for it. You are making a difference. Thank you.

Go forth,
Naima

RESPOND ON BLOG
Comment below, or
Facebook or
Twitter – @naimalett

© 2013 Naima Lett. All Rights Reserved

DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
Birthdays Keep A’Coming
© NaimaLett.com/blog

© Naima Lett, Confessions of a Hollywood Christian

Is it just me or have birthdays hit overdrive?

Before I can finish one, the other has pulled up a seat, ordered an appetizer, dinner and dessert-to-go! These jokers aren’t slowing down, are they?!

Remember when…

Remember when we couldn’t wait to grow up?

I do. I’d slip my tiny feet in my mother’s heels, stumbling, trying to model down our hallway.
Then, one day, those heels actually fit, and she had the hardest time keeping them off my feet.
Next, I was strutting down the catwalk in high school and the heels couldn’t be high enough.
Now, I still love them, but they don’t always love me back.

As a matter of fact, I’m sure my right pinky toe called me something the other day that I can’t repeat over a pulpit. She went all Harlem Nights on a sister cause I tried to extend my cute 2-hour pumps into 4.

“And how old do you think we are?”, she snapped. “This is some old first-job-out-of-college rookie move! I’ma need you to take these fashionista bonecrushers off. NOW!”

It was not a pretty conversation. LOL!

At Your Age

I had my annual physical and exchanged emails with my doctor trying to get clarity about test results that came back in what looked like a foreign language: creatinine, glomerular filtration, alanine aminotransferase… Huh???

When our discussion migrated towards children, she hit me with the “At your age (sorry), you need to start trying right away!” I cracked up. So did my husband when I showed him the correspondence. When did we end up in the “at your age!” category? Guess we better get to trying… which is the best part, right?!)

What a Beautiful Year!

This is a beautiful time, Fam! It really is. We’ve lived through losing just about everything you could possibly lose on this side of heaven and realized the true meaning of living and loving and honoring God with our all.

I have nothing more to lose. Do you know how freeing that is? It’s incredible! Like cartwheels and back-flips fantastic! To live life to its fullest on a daily basis, knowing why we’re here on this earth and fearlessly moving forward in that purpose. I pray that kind of clarity, simplicity and truth for each of you. I pray God’s peace for you.

My Gift To You

The most precious gift I can give you today is God’s Word, which is able to transform our lives.

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:14-21

This year, may you know how wide and long and high and deep is Christ’s love for you. Straight up!

Lots of love from LaLa Land!
Now, if you’ll excuse me, at my age, I need to start “trying” right away, :=)
Naima

What do you think?
RESPOND ON BLOG
Comment below, or
Facebook or
Twitter – @naimalett

© 2013 Naima Lett. All Rights Reserved

DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
Fearless
© NaimaLett.com/blog

Fearless. © source

Something happened last year.

I followed God down a seemingly impossible path and lost an obstacle along the way:
fear.

What you talking bout, Willis?

Most people wouldn’t describe me as fearful. Yet, I can honestly say that I left a certain fear behind in 2012.

When the Lord initially spoke to us about planting a ministry in Beverly Hills that “looks like heaven, sounds like heaven, loves like God loves and lives like Christ lives”, my first inclination was to get on Interstate 405 and start running in the opposite direction. LOL!

Hey, Flo-Jo-Jonah!

Was I bold enough to try and pull a Flo-Jo like Jonah (Jonah 1)?!

You gotta admit. Jonah had some verve! Who gets a God-given assignment (to cry out to a lost people and call them to repentance because God cares for them) and then decides to disobey and break out on his own mission? Jonah did.

Fear of Success

But Jonah didn’t run because he was afraid of failing. Jonah ran because he was afraid of succeeding. Have you ever been there?

In Jonah 4:2, Jonah says he knew God would save the people if Jonah went and preached repentance and they repented: “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity…”

Jonah didn’t want the mission to succeed. He didn’t want God to forgive the people.

Fear of Failure

Here’s where I differ from Jonah. I really wanted God’s mission to succeed. I’ve interceded for His creative people and expected an intervention for a long time. And I actually believed that the vision God gave us could change our world. But that also meant my world would change.

Sundays would be on lock down. Kevin and I would be committing to living and doing life with our community in LaLa Land. Our children would be P.K.’s (preacher kids). And I’d be “That Chick” in our industry, you know, the one who speaks for God.

But I could go through all of that, give up my life, and still have no guarantee of success. I could take all these risks and get no tangible return… (intangible would be learning to trust God more, lean on Him, turn to Him for daily provisions, etc.) For God didn’t promise us an easy road. He promised that daily we’d be conformed into the image of His Son.

Jonah ran because he selfishly wanted God to hold a grudge against the Ninevites. I wanted to run because I selfishly didn’t want to fail. I was doing fine as the actor-producer-writer who did ministry on the side. Why mess that up?

Loving Others

What I could not escape though was this overwhelming conviction that my life is not my own. And if truly I am a follower of Christ and I want to live like He lives, then I too must be willing to love others and sacrifice for them.

That kind of love, by the way, drives out fear! 1 John 4:7-20 says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us…”

Perfect love is what countered the fear of failure… that, and actually failing. I was trying to do things in my own strength and that just never works out, does it? Have you experienced that? Coming to the end of your own abilities and realizing that only God’s plans are going to work? That was 2012. I ended up having to let go all of my own plans and get on board with God’s plans.

Fearless

2013 is so different, Fam. I want to encourage you today.

If you feel God’s tug to step out on a Mission: Impossible and you’re lacing up your Usain Bolt track shoes to run in the opposite direction, press pause. 2012 was one of the most challenging of my life, but it was also one of the most significant and rewarding. We are in the center of God’s perfect will for our lives and we are loving and walking with God’s people, just as He ordained. We have a great group serving with us. We are fearless.

That’s what I desire for you.

So, I leave you with the question that my wonderful husband Kevin asked of me that caused me to retire my running shoes: “All these years, all the training, all the experience, what else did you think God was preparing you for?”

Fearless,
Naima

What do you think?
RESPOND ON BLOG
Comment below, or
Facebook or
Twitter – @naimalett

© 2013 Naima Lett. All Rights Reserved

DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
Super Bowl, Cheerleaders & 1.6 Pounds
© NaimaLett.com/blog



San Francisco 49ers vs. Baltimore Ravens, Then & Now.

Fun Friday!

A couple of months ago, I posted Upgrades: NFL Cheerleaders inspired by NY Daily News’ NFL Gallery – Then & Now. Many of you let us know how much you enjoyed that blog, and some may have missed it altogether.

So, on this Fun Friday before the Super Bowl, we’re updating “NFL Cheerleaders” in light of the drama over the Ravens’ cheerleader who says she was benched for less than 2 lbs of weight gain. Yikes! Either way, enjoy. And go 49ers and Ravens!

NFL CHEERLEADERS:
Talk about upgrades.

What a transformation over the last couple of decades!

More glitz.
More glam.
More enhancements.
More exposure.

Is it me, or does every outfit look like a bikini now? Bikini with stars, bikini with fringe, bikini with fur… for Christmas, of course. By January, the shiny leggings might make an entrance. Or maybe the 49er Girls will break out their FlashDance leg warmers for the Big Game Sunday!

I’m making fun.

But seriously, I understand that these are real dancers with real talent in real careers. The competition is tight, and there’s unbelievable pressure now to look a certain way. There are no more big sweatshirts and long skirts to hide extra belly jelly.

Everybody can see everything when you’re in a bikini… with cowboy boots.

Benched Before the Super Bowl

There are serious consequences for gaining extra pounds, according to Baltimore Ravens’ 5-year veteran cheerleader Courtney Lenz (pictured above in the updated Ravens uniform). For gaining an extra 1.6 pounds – to be exact!

Courtney, the only 3+ year veteran who wasn’t chosen to cheer in the Sunday’s Super Bowl, told Access Hollywood this week, “I’d been benched earlier in the season for a little bit of a weight gain. We do get weighed every week during the season, and you can’t fluctuate at all. They don’t allow fluctuation. I gained, I think it was 1.8 pounds… During the season, I was 124. That was consistently, they wanted me to get back down to 121, 120, which is what I was at when I was 18, 19, when I started on the team. When I got benched, I think I was 125.4 or 125.6.”

Courtney, 23 years old, says that she received disciplinary action and was required to hire a nutritionist and seek counseling at her own expense. She also finished her college degree and decided to retire at the end of this season, still assuming she would go to the Super Bowl. But that invitation was not extended, and she believes it’s because of her weight.

Yal see the picture above. Does Courtney’s 125.6 pounds look like she needs to be benched?

Pure Absurdity

I get it. Most people want to see dancers who are fit. We’ve all seen some spandex situations that have caused pause. But if this story is true, it seems so absurd to me. Are we really going to require all dancers, regardless of body type, to maintain a 120 pound body weight? Who has to go to counseling for going up to 125 lbs? C’mon, confess. Would you be in counseling right now?

In my original post, I reminded us, dancers, cheerleaders, athletes or not, that we are called to be light i.e. Matthew 5:14-16 says “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

I asked us, whether in a bikini with sequins or in a business suit or work uniform, wherever we are, let our light shine so that others glorify God.

Pray, Fam

In addition to that, today, let’s send up prayers for Courtney and all our fellow dancers who are shaking and baking for our entertainment in bikinis with stars & stripes.

I still wish our culture had a different standard and appetite, and that the NFL had some women in high places who could sit in on some meetings and make arguments for less exploitation of our ladies. I still pray that the Lord will empower His daughters, who are already on the cheer squads, to shine brightly as His light in their relationships and witness, in the same way that His sons, who are on the field are holding it down in the locker rooms.

I still ask that, instead of judging the dancers, that we pray for the team owners and decision makers, since the artists have no control over most of the major choices.

But I also want to ask us to pray for this absurdity and obsession with tenths of a pound to come to an end. How many dancers have to become NFL road kill for gaining 1.6 pounds before we say enough is enough? The dancers do have a choice to go after these jobs, but I also think the way our whole culture thinks needs an upgrade.

Upgrade This!

Let’s upgrade and renew our minds and ask if our entertainment is worth our fellow artists enduring months of therapy for weighing more than 120 pounds. Would we be fired today, if our jobs required us to weigh 120 pounds? Super Bowl Sunday is the 2nd largest food consumption day of the year, after Thanksgiving! How many of us will gain 1.6 pounds just from guacamole and chips? OK, I digress!

To end on a lighter note (Absurd! I tell you, Absurd!!!), I suppose the Super Bowl cheer-leading uniforms may don some sort of faux fur this weekend in New Orleans. I admit, I halfway expect somebody to run down the field in leather and/or feathers. But maybe that’ll just be Beyonce and Destiny’s Child.

We’ll see,
Naima

What do you think?
RESPOND ON BLOG
Comment below, or
Facebook or
Twitter – @naimalett

© 2013 Naima Lett. All Rights Reserved

DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
Remember When the Super Bowl was about Football?
© NaimaLett.com/blog



Janet, Beyonce, Madonna, E-Trade, Kia & Doritos babies

Anybody remember when the Super Bowl was about football?
Not anymore, Fam.

Now it’s all about snazzy, multi-million dollar commercials with talking babies, astronaut babies and sling-shot-flying babies as well as 1/2 million dollar half-time shows from one-name divas like Beyonce, Janet & Madonna navigating wardrobe malfunctions, leather and wind-blowing machines.

Sorry 49ers & Ravens

So sorry, San Francisco & Baltimore. You thought Super Bowl XLVII was about you!

But there’s no way that 111 million viewers (2011 Super Bowl XLV’s record as the “most-watched American television program in history”) are tuning in just because they love you.

Plenty of us – heart – football. But networks figured out a long time ago that would not be enough to entice fans whose teams were beaten on the way to the Super Fest to buy in.

For example, if I rooted for the Falcons (who, by the way, are reportedly being courted by L.A., of which I am so on board!), and they had a devastating 4-point loss to San Francisco, why do I now want to watch the 49ers ball? To see if Baltimore will exact revenge for Atlanta? What if I don’t root for the Ravens? Before yal start sending me emails, this is all hypothetical. I’m not hating on anybody’s team. Just saying, it takes more than love to get 111 million viewers.

Enter Cute Commercials & Dicey Half-Time Shows

In order for CBS to sell out of its commercial stock at $3.7- 3.8 million a pop, they’ve got to get a whole bunch of eyeballs on those wide-screen, flat panel, LCD, plasma and smart TVs.

Thus, we’ve got all kinds of commercial contests now. Filmmakers solicit votes for their Dorito creations on Facebook and YouTube. Last year, Chevy’s contest attracted submissions and votes from 32 different countries. This year, Pepsi asked Beyonce fans to upload videos in hopes to join her onstage during the show. Which brings us to the half-time entertainment.

Michael Jackson changed Half-Time

Before 1993, there was no real half-time show.

Then, 20 years ago, Michael Jackson was booked and everything changed forever. With his performance + the 3,500 kids that showed up during his “Heal the World” set, TV ratings soared and the half-time extravaganza was born.

A little over a decade later, in 2004, Michael’s baby sister Janet became half-time infamous, overshadowing all divas before her, including Diana Ross’ 1996 air lift, which had to be approved by the FAA.

Folks are still trying to figure out what Madonna’s show was about last year with Nicki Minaj and M.I.A., but over 110 million watched it. And that’s all that matters to companies paying that $3.8 million for their 30-second commercials.

God & Sports

In my post, God & Sports, I asked the question if God cared who won the Playoffs or the Super Bowl. I could equally ask if He cares about our $3.8 million commercials and divas cart-wheeling off rafters or flying away in helicopters during Half-Time shows. I submit that it’s all for entertainment- the game, the commercials, the shows. It’s all for our entertainment and companies making money.

As Christians, we’re instructed in Paul’s letter concerning how we live after we’re made alive in Christ: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17

When it’s all said and done, whether we’re playing football, watching football, filming the commercial, consuming the commercial, entertaining during the half-time show or being entertained, let’s do all as unto the Lord, giving thanks to Him.

That means that, though I won’t spend a lot of time rooting for San Fran or B-More, I will probably laugh at a couple of baby astronauts and hope Beyonce graces us with her voice this time around.

Let’s do this, New Orleans!
Naima

RESPOND ON BLOG
Comment below, or
Facebook or
Twitter – @naimalett

© 2013 Naima Lett. All Rights Reserved

DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
Singing Through Sickness (Short Excerpt from “If You Believe…”, © NaimaLett.com/blog

[2:51] © Naima Lett

Be encouraged, Fam.

I know many of you are surviving right now: flus, colds, pneumonia. We received another prayer request yesterday for a friend’s friend battling cancer. We know that journey well.

Above is a short video excerpt I sang through our sickness based on John 11:4 where Jesus says of Lazarus, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” (Full Video Message below: “If You Believe…”).

Whatever illness you may be facing, be encouraged. Hang in there.
And feel free to pass this along to those who need encouragement to not give up.

Lots of love from the LaLa,
Naima

FULL VIDEO:
“IF YOU BELIEVE…”

[54:11] © Naima Lett, 2012 New Antioch Women’s Conference

Let us know what you think! :=)

RESPOND ON BLOG
Comment below, or
Facebook or
Twitter – @naimalett

© 2013 Naima Lett. All Rights Reserved

DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
Why Does ARGO Keep Winning?
© NaimaLett.com/blog

© Warner Brothers, ARGO

“And the award goes to… ARGO!”

Why does this film keep winning?

That’s the million dollar question heard round Hollywood yesterday after Ben Affleck’s ARGO seized top honors from the SAG Awards and Producers Guild Awards over the weekend, adding to its Golden Globe and Critic’s Choice Awards for Best Picture and Directors Guild, Writers Guild and Academy Award® nominations.

“I am really amazed and stunned,” admitted Affleck, SAG Award in tow.
He’s not the only one.

Why so stunned?

ARGO is an award-winning film, as stated in my review, ARGO: Political Thriller with a Dose of Fun.

Its director, producer and star is Academy Award® winner Ben Affleck. Ben enlisted his buddies to produce as well: Academy Award® winning actor/director George Clooney and Academy Award® nominated producer/writer Grant Heslov.

So, why are folks so surprised that ARGO keeps pulling away with the Best Picture Award?

Because…

Because, more than once, that’s the only award it has received for the whole night. Folks see all these other films winning for best actor in leading role, best actor in supporting role, best actress in leading role, best actress in supporting role, best screenwriter, etc., and then fast forward to the last award of the night, “And the winner is…ARGO”?

That would be like our American gymnastic team winning no individual medals but walking away with all-around GOLD for BEST TEAM. That’ll definitely turn some heads!

Why is it winning?

My theory is that ARGO is winning because, in the film, Hollywood is the unsung hero. I know everybody outside Hollywood thinks the film says that our military operatives are the heroes, but Hollywood walks away thinking “We saved the day!” Who in Hollywood wouldn’t vote for that?

I also argue in my previous review that Hollywood loves a comeback and Ben Affleck has a huge comeback-kid, redemption story this season. I explain that people love redemption, and we, as Christians, especially identify. (Romans 8:11, Paul describes the new life that we live through God’s Spirit, “And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you…” We know a comeback when we see it.

LA Times bestselling author and awards reporter, Steve Pond, has a different theory. He says, “People just like ARGO.” And in our popularity-contest-awards-race, likability wins. Sometimes, it’s just that simple.

And the Moral of the Story…

We can learn a lesson from this adventure, Fam. Whether we’re in Hollywood or not, before we pour thousands of hours creating, writing, producing and working on our next project, let’s ask one simple question, “Will the people we want to love this project really like it?”

If the answer is “YES!”, we’re likely on to a winner.
Naima

RESPOND ON BLOG
Comment below, or
Facebook or
Twitter – @naimalett

© 2013 Naima Lett. All Rights Reserved

DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
Who’s Got Next? Young Hollywood & Wonder Woman
© NaimaLett.com/blog



Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence, Kerry Washington, and Wonder Woman

Anybody else feel like lip-syncing the National Anthem?
Yesterday’s SAG Awards red carpet felt mighty patriotic!

I kept waiting for Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman to jump over the red velvet rope and free an A-Lister with her Lasso of Truth!

Young Hollywood did Ms. Wonder proud though. All the celebrity fashion stylists must’ve gotten the same memo because it was all about the strapless red, white and blue (above). Even with hints of black and a couple of gowns of gold, the most prominent stars & stripes hues would’ve made our troops (and the Amazonian princess) proud.

Who’s Got Next?

Awards season, for any actor, is usually about positioning for more employment. Each starlet wants to be the answer to the question, “Who’s Got Next?”

By Hollywood standards, that depends mostly on one’s profitability at the box office and/or television ads. But it also hinges on one’s ability to drive other sales i.e. fashion, lipstick, liquor, perfume, soda, magazines, mobile apps! You name it! If your image can be slapped on the side of something to sell it, you’ve arrived! LOL! Enter our lovely ladies from last evening.

THE RED

Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain broke the cardinal red-head rule and rocked red yesterday. Talk about daring! Take that Bin Laden. I didn’t like her film Zero Dark Thirty, but I can admire any fashionista who goes against the grain.

THE WHITE

Meanwhile, Image Award-winner Kerry Washington continued her love affair with white. As Scandal’s leading lady with a name like Olivia Pope, Kerry is dressed in white on the show all the time: white trenches, white sweaters, white gowns. We get the symbolism that we’re supposed to think she’s trying to make good choices.

THE BLUE

Navy was all the rage yesterday. Everybody from Nicole Kidman to Amanda Seyfried donned the blue. But Academy Award nominee Jennifer Lawrence was contagious. Literally. She had walking pneumonia. But her win as Best Actress for Silver Linings Playbook and her large box office draw from The Hunger Games’ $400 million gross allowed everyone to forget how sick she must’ve been. Not me. When she told one reporter she had pneumonia, I’m sure I said out loud, “Child, Go sit down somewhere.” Unfortunately, she didn’t hear me through the TV.

NEXT

There’s always a NEXT in our industry. The starlets who carve out a long-term career sign up for the long haul and do what they can to maximize their moment. They also tend to have a healthy dose of reality and benefit from Wonder Woman’s Belt of Truth.

On a side note, did anybody else make the connection of W.W.’s lasso of truth with Ephesians 6:14 belt of truth? “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist…” I really think our original comic book writers (Superman, Wonder Woman, etc.) were infusing God’s story into our culture. Straight up. But I digress…

Kerry Washington lives in reality. I went to a recent screening where she was the special guest and she said, “If you need stability and consistency, this business is not for you.” She’s worked for almost 20 years, making her screen debut on TV in 1994. She gets it.

Jessica Chastain is heralded for deeply authentic performances. She graduated from Julliard in New York in 2003 and has hustled for almost 10 years to get on the map. She often speaks of all the auditions she survived for so many years and just persevering and never giving up.

And Jennifer Lawrence, who carved a path for herself first through independent films, has admitted that even she never knows what’s going to come out of her mouth. She’s known for her candor. She beats to a different kind of drum and it’s working for her.

KEEPING IT REAL

Hopefully, we can all be encouraged to walk out truth and keep it real. We tend to really appreciate that from others.

I think it’s the reason there was such a backlash to Beyonce’s lip-syncing during the Inauguration. People felt duped. Unlike Kelly Clarkson who sang live right before her, Ms. Sasha Fierce went all out trying to make everyone “think” she was singing live when she actually wasn’t. Thank goodness we already know she can sing and she’ll no doubt try to make a comeback during the Super Bowl halftime next Sunday, but it kind of left a bad taste in people’s mouths when they learned she had faked her performance.

Let’s go Wonder’s route and walk out truth.
And let’s toast to young Hollywood’s Next in their red, white & blue!
Naima

RESPOND ON BLOG
Comment below, or
Facebook or
Twitter – @naimalett

© 2013 Naima Lett. All Rights Reserved