Sleepwalker



 


Director: Mark Romanek


Background:
 


  • Television premier August 28, 2000
    
Jakob explains why the video premiered on VH1 rather than the usual MTV: "You know I wish there was something more complicated to it, some real game planning but... I happen to know that particular week, that we wanted to put the video out, they just weren’t showing anything new." (11.18.00)

    

  • The VH1 Pop-Up version of the video aired on 12.19.00
    

Description:
    

  • Filmed in a Los Angeles food warehouse over three days.
    
  • The tongue-in-cheek video captures various parodies
      of the life of a "rock star"  
    • 
    
  • Many of the scenes end with a "behind the
      scenes" look at how it was done--pushing the point of the often
      fake Hollywood atmosphere of the music business. (i.e. In one scene, Jakob
      is shown singing from on top of a building. Later, when he jumps off the
      "building" you can see it was only a miniature prop) 
    • 
    
  • 
      
    
        Actor Ben Stiller was brought on as comedy
        consultant.
      
    
      
    
        "Stillers’s gig was to help Jakob and company
        work up some parodies of Life in the Pop Lane, to capture the absurdity
        and weirdness of success that Dylan chronicles from the song’s
        sardonic opening lines: “maybe I could be the one they adored/ That
        could be my reputation/It’s where I’m from that lets them think
        I’m a whore/ I’m an educated virgin.”" (Elle
        Magazine, 10.00)
      
    
 
    • 
    
  • The video's look was inspired by the book "My Life in the 60's" featuring the work of
      photographer Jean-Marie Perier. Perier is thanked at the end of the video. Jakob comments: "A lot of the images [in the video], like the fish, were taken from his book, from a lot of 60's photographs that he took. So, you know, you have to give credit where it's due." 
    (MTV's TRL 9.13.00)    
     


    		• 
        
      


View Video
with RealMedia from www.thewallflowers.com
    

View Pop-Up Video
with RealMedia. Or read the transcript.
    

Band Comments:
    
Jakob on the concept of the video:
    
It's just kind of having a little bit of loose fun with the idea of making videos, and of popular culture images. It's supposed to be a little light. We've been kind of serious a little bit before. We're learning how to lighten up a bit in our wiser age." 
    (MTV's TRL 9.13.00)
    

"We wanted to make a video that wasn't taken too seriously, you know, our videos have been pretty simple. We wanted to do a video that was a little more interactive." 
    (12.19.00 VH1)
    

"I think there's elements of the song that the video represents. Like, the flag shot, a guy listening to headphones [plugged?] in to a fish, which is a very absurd '60s image. It's just poking fun of what was actually going on when these pictures and moments were happening."
    (12.19.00 VH1)
    
Mike on the making of the video:
    
"We sat in the trailer a lot." 
    (VH1 The Daily One 9.13.00)