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LA/ London based filmmaker Samantha King drew inspiration from her lived experiences around Hollywood to compliment the sentiment of artist Sedona's new song Best In Show. While laughing at the industry, together they have created a satirical video with references taken from the cheesiest of pop- culture tropes. The song shines a spotlight on the race to fame and success, and the anti-climax thereafter.

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King "While I grew up in LA, I spent the summers in the North of England, which allowed me to objectively see the major cultural differences between the two. I always associated the culture of LA with Hollywood and treated it as a lifelong performance piece. The industry is a spectacle of itself because everything is staged and manufactured to look a certain way, which therefore breeds an emphasis upon superficial values.

Everyone assumes that Hollywood is glamorous, but the reality of the affects in which the industry creates is quite sad.

This constant need for validation and perfection is explored in Sedona’s new track, “Best in Show”.  My idea for the video was to transform Sedona into these “archetypes” of women in Hollywood who  have succumbed to the tragic pressures that this industry produces. These archetypal characters differ from the expectations of Hollywood and this is shown by putting Sedona on display to resemble mannequins rotating behind glass store fronts. We styled Sedona in early 2000’s garments which have become the quintessential aesthetic of LA and included shots of her running away from paparazzi and fans. I wanted this music video to reveal both the happy and dark sides of this world and what it really means to make it in the entertainment world."

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Sedona "Whether it's film, music, or TV - the dream of making it in Hollywood is a tale as old as time. "Best In Show" embodies that piercing desire to walk the line between making it and breaking it. From the "beverly pillhead" to the "red carpet runaway," this song pushes every show-stopping, jaw dropping, Hollywood wanna-be star to their fullest potential. And when they get there, that's right when they realize how silly it is to try to fit into these molds of what others want them to be. Success has many shapes and forms, so rather than getting your panties in a bunch about whether or not you tanked or nailed the audition, "Best In Show" would rather prescribe you its anthemic chorus, "Throw it in the bay, no reply from Hollywood today...throw it in the bay, watch it float away and cruise on!" Side effects may include: learning to laugh at yourself, not caring what others think of you, relinquishing approval from those around you, or even becoming exactly who you want to be on your own terms. In other words, this song is a backhanded compliment to the industry's unspoken rules of how you need to be in order to succeed. Because if you're not having fun, you're doing it wrong!"

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Artist: Sedona (@champagne_poopi) (@thatbandsedona) https://www.thatgirlsedona.com

Director/Producer - Samantha King (@spam__jam)(@cherrybfilms) https://www.samanthaking.co

‍DP - Christina Bryson (@averagecowgirl)

Art Dept./Hair & Makeup - Wesley Goodrich (@paidfollower001)

Editor - Payton Koch

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