Who Is the Better Fake Video Director – Shinedown’s Brent Smith or Godsmack’s Salvatore Pasquale?
Director Salvatore Pasquale has taken the music world by storm after his appearance in the Director's Cut of Godsmack's latest video for "Bulletproof." In reality, it's Sully Erna portraying his "cousin" as he attempts to direct the band through their music video, but not without a number of challenges along the way. That got us thinking about another fake video director -- Brent Smith -- who was at the reins for a Shinedown video shoot in 2016's "Asking for It" video. With Godsmack and Shinedown hitting the road this summer, will the better director debate become a bone of contention? Who is the better fake video director -- Brent or Salvatore?
On one side, you have Brent "The Director" Smith. You can judge his work in the "Asking for It" video below. He seems to have assembled a crack crew for the shoot, works well with his young charges displaying what he wants in the scenes, knows his way around a megaphone and is ready for some "excellence." But a slap fight with the band's manager doesn't exactly win over any points for professionalism. He's even got the director look, sporting sunglasses and a scarf.
But Smith has nothing sartorially on Salvatore Pasquale, who comes dressed to the nines in his mustard colored suit and hat, chain and black turtleneck. While Salvatore has the best of intentions, his direction sometimes misses the mark and he does get a little defensive, but his style certainly helps when it comes to wardrobe. And when it comes to crew, Salvatore's lovely assistant does tend to save the day. You can see the "Bulletproof" video above.
With these two directing titans possibly crossing paths this summer on the Godsmack-Shinedown tours, we spoke with both band's frontmen to determine which director ruled more.
When we broached the topic with Smith, he stated with a laugh, "One hundred percent, Sully, man. Holy crap! That is extraordinary. I just saw that yesterday ... I mean, dude -- I was like over the moon with just how great it was."
He continued, "It's not even the fact that they're poking fun at certain things but it was done really cool and I just appreciate the fact that not only Sully, but all of the guys in the band. Shannon and -- it didn't come off, when you watch it, they're doing this because they think it'll be funny or it'll give them cred. You can see the fact that it really is done very very well. Yes, some of it is tongue in cheek, but that's the great thing about being an artist. Doing things that are different and expanding yourself and pushing yourself not only as being a writer in a band or a songwriter / performer or what have you."
"I was on the ground yesterday," concludes Smith. "I thought it was awesome. But he definitely, nah he totally takes the cake. Definitely Salvatore. He earned, it he deserves it."
That's good news for Erna, as it appears there will be no beef on tour this summer. Erna also came to the defense of his cousin, stating, "Oh my god, come on! That's not even close, man. Nobody can hang with Pasquale. This guy is -- he is gonna upstage everybody. This dude is a maniac, he's out of control. He's wired on way too much espresso and his character is much bigger than any director I've ever seen. So, for sure, Pasquale wins and will win every time."
Watch both Godsmack's "Bulletproof" above and Shinedown's "Asking for It" below and judge for yourself. Then make sure to pick up those tickets for the Godsmack-Shinedown summer tour. See the dates via Godsmack and Shinedown's respective sites.
Shinedown, "Asking for It"
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