# Weapon of Choice (song)
**Weapon of Choice** is a song by [Fatboy Slim](https://www.edgepedia.org/fatboy-slim), featuring lead vocals by [Bootsy Collins](https://www.edgepedia.org/bootsy-collins), from the album *Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars* (2000, Skint Records).[2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw7IsHfmYmM) • [14](https://www.nme.com/news/music/fatboy-slim-134-1385110) Its 2001 music video, directed by [Spike Jonze](https://www.edgepedia.org/spike-jonze), shows Christopher Walken dancing through an empty hotel lobby and flying through the air.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5043916/) The video won six awards at the 2001 MTV Music Video Awards and the Grammy Award for Best Music Video in 2002, and Billboard ranked it #9 on its list of the Greatest Music Videos of the 21st Century.[3](https://www.sentireascoltare.com/video/fatboy-slim-christopher-walken-tip-tap-rimpianto-weapon-of-choice/) • [8](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/00s/2001/BB-2001-09-22.pdf) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5043916/)
It is best known for its 2001 music video, directed by Spike Jonze, in which [Christopher Walken](https://www.edgepedia.org/christopher-walken) dances through an empty hotel lobby and flies through the air[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5043916/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist / album | Fatboy Slim, from *Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars* (2000, Skint Records)[2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw7IsHfmYmM) |
| Lead vocal | Bootsy Collins[14](https://www.nme.com/news/music/fatboy-slim-134-1385110) |
| Credited composers | Norman Cook, Ashley Slater, Sylvester Stewart, Andreas Titus, William McLean, and Bootsy Collins[2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw7IsHfmYmM) |
| Music video | Directed by Spike Jonze, starring Christopher Walken; released April 23, 2001 in the United States; 4-minute runtime, filmed at Hotel L.A. in Los Angeles[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5043916/) |
| Awards | Six wins at the 2001 MTV Music Video Awards; Grammy Award for Best Music Video in 2002; 7 wins and 6 nominations in total per IMDb[3](https://www.sentireascoltare.com/video/fatboy-slim-christopher-walken-tip-tap-rimpianto-weapon-of-choice/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5043916/) |
| Recognition | Ranked #9 on Billboard's list of the Greatest Music Videos of the 21st Century[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5043916/) |
## The song
The track appears on *Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars*, released on Skint Records in 2000, with Norman Cook as producer, performer, and programmer[2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw7IsHfmYmM). Bootsy Collins sings the lead vocal; the YouTube release credits him as a performer and composer alongside Cook, Ashley Slater, Sylvester Stewart, Andreas Titus, and William McLean[2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw7IsHfmYmM). Later releases credit the song as "Fatboy Slim ft Bootsy Collins", and the track also appeared on the 2006 compilation *The Greatest Hits: Why Try Harder*[4](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/fatboy-slim-weapon-of-choice/) • [5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTdJy4_rHPE).
## The music video
**Concept and casting.** The video shows a businessman, played by Christopher Walken (uncredited), who overhears the song on a maid's radio and takes to dancing through the hotel lobby[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5043916/). Spike Jonze, who had previously directed the films *Being John Malkovich* (1999) and *[Adaptation](https://www.edgepedia.org/adaptation-film)* (2002), conceived it as a dance video after recalling that he had seen Walken dancing on *Saturday Night Live* years earlier[6](https://clare-ofarrell.com/2022/05/09/christopher-walken-in-weapon-of-choice-fatboy-slim-spike-jonze-2001/) • [7](https://www.mentalfloss.com/entertainment/music/christopher-walken-weapon-of-choice-music-video-history-facts). According to Jonze, he wrote Walken a letter asking him to appear, and Walken called soon after and said yes[8](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/00s/2001/BB-2001-09-22.pdf). The Danish press reported that Walken took part without pay because he had always wanted to work with Jonze[9](https://gaffa.dk/nyheder/2001/maj/christopher-walken-i-ny-fatboy-slim-video/).
**Walken's dance background.** For viewers who knew Walken only from intense or sinister film roles such as *The Deer Hunter*, *King of New York*, and *True Romance*, the performance came as a surprise, but he had trained in dance from childhood: his mother took him and his brothers to tap-dancing lessons in Queens, he studied musical theater dance at the Washington Dance Studio, and he toured with *West Side Story*, where he met his wife, the dancer Georgianne[7](https://www.mentalfloss.com/entertainment/music/christopher-walken-weapon-of-choice-music-video-history-facts).
**The performance.** Over roughly three minutes, Walken's character dances alone through the halls, corridors, and tables of a deserted hotel, and finally flies through the air, carried by the music[6](https://clare-ofarrell.com/2022/05/09/christopher-walken-in-weapon-of-choice-fatboy-slim-spike-jonze-2001/) • [10](https://uplopen.com/en/books/2684/files/75bd5589-f157-4f16-baef-f5c85b9b7dc7.pdf). Jonze instructed Walken to dance and fly around the hotel building[11](https://www.viennale.at/en/films/weapon-choice-fatboy-slim). A stunt performer doubles for the table jump at about 2 minutes 40 seconds, a transition IMDb lists among the video's goofs because the double has different hair[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5043916/). It was Jonze's third video for Cook, after "[Praise You](https://www.edgepedia.org/praise-you)" and "[The Rockafeller Skank](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-rockafeller-skank)"[3](https://www.sentireascoltare.com/video/fatboy-slim-christopher-walken-tip-tap-rimpianto-weapon-of-choice/).
## Reception and awards
The video received six awards at the 2001 MTV Music Video Awards, including best direction in a video, and won the [Grammy Award for Best Music Video](https://www.edgepedia.org/grammy-award-for-best-music-video) in 2002[3](https://www.sentireascoltare.com/video/fatboy-slim-christopher-walken-tip-tap-rimpianto-weapon-of-choice/) • [8](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/00s/2001/BB-2001-09-22.pdf). IMDb records 7 wins and 6 nominations in total for the clip[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5043916/). Billboard later ranked it #9 on its list of the Greatest Music Videos of the 21st Century[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5043916/).
## Legacy
On release, the video was played continually on television and provoked imitations, early internet memes, and homages; by 2022 the official YouTube upload had reached about 61.8 million views[6](https://clare-ofarrell.com/2022/05/09/christopher-walken-in-weapon-of-choice-fatboy-slim-spike-jonze-2001/). For its 20th anniversary, the video was restored in 4K[3](https://www.sentireascoltare.com/video/fatboy-slim-christopher-walken-tip-tap-rimpianto-weapon-of-choice/). Walken's commentary on the video appears in the Directors Label series installment for Spike Jonze, a long-out-of-print release[12](https://vimeo.com/1040115936), and the clip was edited into *The Work of Director Spike Jonze* (2003)[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5043916/). Jonze's single-take dance-video format, established here and later reused in commercials such as his 2018 advertisement "Welcome Home" and a Kenzo spot with [Margaret Qualley](https://www.edgepedia.org/margaret-qualley), has been cited as a continuing influence on his commercial work[13](https://elpais.com/cultura/2025-03-19/pedro-pascal-al-ritmo-de-guitarricadelafuente-en-el-nuevo-anuncio-de-spike-jonze.html).
## References
1. [Fatboy Slim: Weapon of Choice (Music Video 2001), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5043916/)
2. [Weapon of Choice (feat. Bootsy Collins), official YouTube upload](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw7IsHfmYmM)
3. [Fatboy Slim. Christopher Walken e il tip-tap del rimpianto: "Weapon of Choice", SentireAscoltare](https://www.sentireascoltare.com/video/fatboy-slim-christopher-walken-tip-tap-rimpianto-weapon-of-choice/)
4. [WEAPON OF CHOICE – FATBOY SLIM, Official Charts](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/fatboy-slim-weapon-of-choice/)
5. [Weapon of Choice, official YouTube upload (The Greatest Hits: Why Try Harder)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTdJy4_rHPE)
6. [Christopher Walken in Weapon of Choice – Fatboy Slim, Spike Jonze (2001), Refracted Input](https://clare-ofarrell.com/2022/05/09/christopher-walken-in-weapon-of-choice-fatboy-slim-spike-jonze-2001/)
7. [When Christopher Walken Danced to 'Weapon of Choice', Mental Floss](https://www.mentalfloss.com/entertainment/music/christopher-walken-weapon-of-choice-music-video-history-facts)
8. [MUSIC VIDEO, Billboard, 22 September 2001](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/00s/2001/BB-2001-09-22.pdf)
9. [Christopher Walken I ny Fatboy Slim video, Gaffa](https://gaffa.dk/nyheder/2001/maj/christopher-walken-i-ny-fatboy-slim-video/)
10. [Video thrills the Radio Star: Musikvideos: Geschichte, Themen, Analysen](https://uplopen.com/en/books/2684/files/75bd5589-f157-4f16-baef-f5c85b9b7dc7.pdf)
11. [Weapon Of Choice – Fatboy Slim, Viennale](https://www.viennale.at/en/films/weapon-choice-fatboy-slim)
12. [Christopher Walken's commentary on "Weapon of Choice", Vimeo](https://vimeo.com/1040115936)
13. [Pedro Pascal al ritmo de Guitarricadelafuente en el nuevo anuncio de Spike Jonze, El País](https://elpais.com/cultura/2025-03-19/pedro-pascal-al-ritmo-de-guitarricadelafuente-en-el-nuevo-anuncio-de-spike-jonze.html)
14. [Fatboy Slim Walken Back To Happiness!, NME](https://www.nme.com/news/music/fatboy-slim-134-1385110)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Pop, rock, and metal songs › Dance and EDM songs › Classic dance and Eurodance songs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license