Christopher Walken Didn't Know His Fatboy Slim Music Video Had A Dune Reference
Christopher Walken is a national treasure.
Over a brilliant stage and screen career that spans over seven decades, the man has never been less than captivating. He's turned in shattering dramatic performances in classics like "The Deer Hunter" and "The Dead Zone" (which also happens to be one of the very best Stephen King movies), and made us cackle like fools on his numerous "Saturday Night Live" appearances and, well, I'm not sure what the heck he was doing in "The Country Bears," but he's the only reason I'm still thinking about an otherwise listless Disney family flick 22 years after the rest of the world has forgotten it.
And he's lost none of his ability to delight and confound (sometimes in the same moment) as he nears his 81st birthday this month. Walken will just keep struttin', and the world is a better place for this.
All you need for proof of this is his amazing performance as Emperor Shaddam IV in Denis Villenueve's "Dune: Part Two." This was Walken's first movie in four years, so it was thrilling to see him once again on the big screen in a role that, if you've read the book, might not have felt like a wheelhouse character for the veteran actor.
But this wasn't Walken's first brush with "Dune." He first crossed paths with the sci-fi epic in 2001. But while fans of the book might've known this, it was, until very recently, news to Walken.
Walk without rhythm and you won't attract the worm
Walken's career is riddled with genius performances, but if you asked a random person to rattle off a few highlights there's a very good chance they'd bring up his ecstatic dance routine in Spike Jonze's music video for Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice."
And if you weren't too overwhelmed by Walken's glorious hoofing, you might've noticed the lyrics make a fairly overt "Dune" reference: "Walk without rhythm and you won't attract the worm."
GQ's Gabriella Paiella brought this up to Walken in a recent interview, and he hadn't thought about the connection.
"No, you know, that's the first I've heard of that. You telling me right now is the first time I've heard that. You mean the lyrics of the Fatboy Slim song refer to ... yeah, in the movie they kind of do that slide and dance, when they walk in the desert, they do that kind of ice skating thing."
They sure do, Mr. Walken, but they can't do it quite as elegantly as you. In any event, it's nice to have an excuse to watch one of the all-time great music videos (over and over) again.