Christopher Walken Is 'Made Of Cool'

 
Christopher Walken is cool. It's an undeniable fact that the man who danced through a building to Fatboy Slim, played a deadly game of Russian roulette in 'The Dear Hunter' and popped an uncomfortable timepiece up his bot-bot for Bruce Willis' Dad in Pulp Fiction is an incredible dude. Therefore, when Danish Agency &Co needed a frontman for new Jack & Jones campaign 'Made From Cool', Mr Walken was top of the list.

 
Naturally, to match such a world-class actor, you need a world-class production company and director brought on board. &Co's solution was to contact longtime collaborator Martin Werner from Bacon, whose visual flourish and underlying humour  matched the project perfectly. The result is five short online spots, each identifying different elements of the tailoring process aptly demonstrated by Walken. Utilising sly special effects and the steely gaze of its protagonist, each film is a delightfully playful rendition of style and panache. Proving hugely popular online, it's clear that the campaign worked - appealing to a much larger audience than the dreaded 'fashion film' moniker generally draws.
 
We managed to grab Werner to check out his take on the campaign, how he got involved and the eternal coolness of Christopher Walken.
 

 
First things first – Christopher Walken. Bravo.
 
Thanks:)
 
How did you wind up making a series of films with Mr Walken for JACK & JONES? How early did you get involved?
 
The Danish Agency &Co, an absolute top agency in Scandinavia, and creative's Thomas Hoffman and Martin Storgaard have been very generous with Bacon and me. We had done some great things previously, so when they shared their plans on J&J with me I knew I had to wake up early.
 
&CO Agency producer Arlette Walsøe, whom we also have known for a long time, was very clear very early in her brief, and wanted us involved as early as possible, which was great.
 
Walken was, from the birth of their ideas, the 'godfather' they had in mind. Our job was to help either to get him onboard or to take the campaign somewhere else, which none of us really wanted. And luckily the first plan worked out!

 
The five films cover different elements of the tailoring process. What was more important –find things that you could associate with the clothing or things that Walken would look cool doing?
 
Well, both. Our aim was to find a few visual or maybe even iconic moments in the tailoring process. We then added Mr. Walken performing something slightly larger than life (the tiny tricks) that would underline or strengthen the premium quality of the brand.
 
Where were the films shot? The single location gives the series great visual continuity.
 
In a studio. Peter Grant, the great Danish art director who did such iconic movies such as "Breaking The Waves", made the set. The initial plan was to shoot the thing on location in New York. But luckily Christopher Walken was game to visit Copenhagen, where he actually shot the first movie he ever did some 35 years ago.
 
Was there any improvisation during the shoot? Was there anything that couldn't be achieved?
 
Christopher Walken is tremendously precise. Unique. So watching him get in front of the camera was pretty epic, I have to say. The whole crew kind of went "Wow" on the first take we did. I mean meeting Chris the first time you get the exact same impression, but an actor of his scale is magnificent because he has something profound and deeply mysterious or GREAT about him. Our aim was to keep cool and stay as focused and simple as possible, and he responded very well to that. The biggest challenge was to do as little as possible in reality, and then work stupidly hard to nail those effects!

 
You manage to get him to pull off some of his renowned dance moves. Did he need any convincing?
 
I met the one and only Spike Jonze in Copenhagen some 8 years ago, so I felt I was fine to pay him and Walken such homage. Naturally, Jack & Jones were really keen to see a tiny fraction of that. Mr. Walken has been dancing on Broadway for decades, so it is kind of IN HIM if you play the right music on set. The Rolling Stones did the job.
 
The films incorporate some subtle, humorous special effects (the instantly folded shirt, the super-fast knitting). Was it important to make sure they weren't too flashy?
 
YES. And our post prod muscle Bacon X worked above-and-beyond to find the right ways to pull that off. It took them several months of preparation to find the right way to deal with each of the effects.
 
The series has had a great reaction online. Are you pleased with the results?
 
Very. But I strongly believe that quality, in whatever format, always wins.
 
Are there any plans on shooting more in the series? With Walken?
 
You never know.
 
Was he as cool in real life?
 
Totally. My wife is still very much in love with him. And he is 70!
 
What's up next for you guys?

We are working on a Benetton campaign and a pretty heavy post job with Bacon X, so all hands on deck.