Christopher Walken Walken", playing fictional poet and ladies' man Robert Fulmer. In Woody Allen's 1977 film "Annie Hall", Walken played the homicidal and borderline crazy brother of Annie Hall (Diane Keaton). Also in 1977, Walken had a minor role as Eli Wallach's partner in "The Sentinel". In 1978, he appeared in "Shoot the Sun Down", a western filmed in 1976 that costarred Margot Kidder. Along with Nick Nolte and Burt Reynolds, Walken was considered by George Lucas for the part of Han Solo in "Star Wars"; the part ultimately went to Harrison Ford. In 1977, Walken also starred in an episode of
Annie Hall marked his first collaboration with cinematographer Gordon Willis, as "a major turning point", in that unlike the farces and comedies that were his work to that point, it introduced a new level of seriousness. Academics have noted the contrast in the settings of New York City and Los Angeles, the stereotype of gender differences in sexuality, the presentation of Jewish identity, and the elements of psychoanalysis and modernism. "Annie Hall" was screened at the Los Angeles Film Festival in March 1977, before its official release on April 20, 1977. The film received widespread critical acclaim, and along with winning the