The Dude Abides

[Shockeye]

Return of The Dude
Rolling festivals celebrating 'The Big Lewbowski' hit L.A. at last

Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Daily News
Mar. 24, 2005 12:00 AM

He's been Starman and a Fabulous Baker Boy, Wild Bill Hickok and the President of the United States. But the role Jeff Bridges is now most remembered for -- and he's as surprised at the evolution of this as anybody -- is The Dude, the White Russian-drinking, Creedence-loving, bowling stoner from the Coen Brothers' 1998 movie "The Big Lebowski."

"I would never have imagined it," Bridges says. "When the movie came out, not that many people saw it. Now I've got people buying me White Russians wherever I go. It has acquired this huge, underground following because it's one of those movies, the more you see it, the more you see in it."

And there are a lot of people -- Achievers, they call themselves -- who watch "Lebowski" enough to see a lot in it. Enough to create a rolling series of Lebowski Fests, two-day events featuring bowling, costume contests, a fair amount of alcohol consumption and, in the parlance of The Dude (and, with The Dude, parlance is paramount), "what-have-you."

Lebowski Fest began as a one-off at a Louisville, Ky., bowling alley in October 2002. A couple of hundred people showed up. Once word got out about the event, Achievers (the preferred nomenclature, taken from the movie's "Little Lebowski Urban Achievers") numbering thousands have attended subsequent Fests in Louisville, Las Vegas and New York.

Now, inevitably, Lebowski Fest is heading west, to The Dude's stomping grounds. (Sam Elliott's Stranger notes in the opening narration that The Dude was "quite possibly the laziest man in all of Los Angeles County. Which would place him high in the runnin' for laziest worldwide.")

On Friday at Hollywood's Knitting Factory, there will be a party featuring cherished, fringe cast members, bands (Peter Stormare -- Uli the Nihilist in the film -- will lead his group, Blonde From Fargo!) and a midnight screening of the movie. The action will move to Lakewood's Cal Bowl Saturday night for bowling, costume and trivia contests and more appearances from cast members as well as from Jeff Dowd, the man who was the Coens' inspiration for The Dude.

"People have likened it to a 'Star Trek' or science-fiction convention, but we have women and nobody speaks Klingon," says Scott Shuffitt, who founded and organizes the Lebowski Fests with Louisville friend Will Russell.

If all this hullabaloo seems a little odd for a movie that was widely seen as a critical and commercial disappointment, particularly following Joel and Ethan Coen's Oscar-winning "Fargo," then you probably haven't seen "The Big Lebowski."

Or maybe you've seen it only once.

"The first time I saw it, I was indifferent," Russell says. "A year later, I saw it again and then a third time. Then the 87th time I saw it ..."

You get the idea. "The Big Lebowski" is one of those movies that not only stands up after repeated viewings, it gets better. It helps that the plot is incidental. A millionaire, who, like The Dude, is named Jeff Lebowski (a name The Dude hates: "I am not 'Mr. Lebowski.' I'm The Dude. You know, that or His Dudeness or Duder or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing.") hires The Dude to find his kidnapped daughter.

Who abducted her? Who cares? "The Big Lebowski" is the Coens taking Raymond Chandler, filtering it through their weird sensibilities and coming up with an acid-trip whodunit that features a Freudian Busby Berkeley dream sequence with Julianne Moore in Valkyrie get-up (complete with golden, bowling-ball breastplates), an attack marmot and a pederast named Jesus.

The Coens followed Robert Altman's lead from "The Long Goodbye" and then took it a step further, turning Chandler's hero, detective Philip Marlowe, into an unemployed, hippie doofus who becomes involved in a web of intrigue all because somebody peed on his rug, and, man, "that rug really tied the room together."

Befitting the Chandler connection, "The Big Lebowski" stands as one of the all-time great L.A. movies, hitting on the wonders and weirdness of the city in a myriad of ways. It's all there -- the palm trees, the porn industry, the Malibu beaches, the endlessly sprawling blanket of nighttime lights, the flakes, the go-getters, the opportunists and, yes, the Achievers.

"People from all over the world tell me that this is their favorite movie about California," says Swedish actor Stormare, who also worked with the Coens on "Fargo." (He famously fed Steve Buscemi's leg into a wood chipper.)

"It's how people see Los Angeles," Stormare says. "I think of that scene where The Dude and Walter (John Goodman) empty the ashes of their friend over the ocean and the wind comes and blows them back in their faces. For me, that says it all. The positives and the negatives of the best city in the world, right there in the sunshine and the ashes."

For Achievers, though, the movie's appeal seems to lie in the friendships between the characters and the regular-guy charm of its laid-back hero.

"The Dude is a genuine person," Lebowski Fest's Russell says. "He remains the same person no matter if he's in front of a millionaire or an avant-garde artist or Walter. He lives in the moment and takes things as they come. He doesn't have a cape or dodge bullets. He's just The Dude and that's enough."

Russell, 29, and Shuffitt, 33, have achieved something themselves through the Lebowski Fests -- a taste of financial success. Shuffitt still has a job -- he drives trucks -- but Russell pretty much devotes himself to organizing the fests (there will be two others this year -- Louisville and New York), running the Web site (lebowskifest.com) and selling "Lebowski" goodies, including bumper stickers, T-shirts and Nixon bobble-head dolls.

Bridges has contributed to the commerce as well, designing a T-shirt for Lebowski Fest West with proceeds to go to the End Hunger Network. The shirt sports a Bridges drawing of The Dude on the front with a sketch of the soiled rug on the back.

"If you've ever wanted to buy The Dude a White Russian, go with the T-shirt," says Bridges, whose drink of choice is actually just a pure Russian (straight Vodka, no Kahlua, no half-and-half). "It's a good cause."

And the Real Dude, Jeff Dowd, a movie producer (his slacker Dude days are long gone) and one-time member of the radical group The Seattle Seven, believes that, in its own weird way, "The Big Lebowski" is about the one cause that everyone can appreciate -- laughter in the face of insanity.

"The beauty of 'The Big Lebowski' is that in a world where we all have good reason to put a bullet in our brains at least once a year, to freak out, to give up, the tonic is comedy," says Dowd, who will be at the Fest Saturday night. "It's like in 'Sullivan's Travels.' We need laughter. If, as the movie says, 'The Dude abides' -- and The Dude does abide -- it's only through laughter that he gets there."

"Well," he says after a moment of consideration. "A special lady friend helps, too."

[WayAbvPar]

I would SO go to that if they had one locally. That would be a blast!

[voodoolily]

Heh, our governor won primarily because he called himself "The Big Kulongoski" and had his election parties in bowling alleys.

[WayAbvPar]

The Big Kulongoski"

Sounds like a Polynesian drink made with Polish vodka.

[Paelos]

Heh, our governor won primarily because he called himself "The Big Kulongoski" and had his election parties in bowling alleys.

Which is actually a Polish euphemism for p3nis

[ahoythematey]

Looks like Russel has found himself sitting in the fabled cat-bird seat.

[AOFanboi]

Looks like it's the new "Rocky Horror Picture Show" of our generation?

Couldn't have happened to a nicer movie.

[schild]

"Office Space" is the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" of our generation. Though Lebowski is simply a goddamned masterpiece of cinema.

[Sky]

Transvestites are dressing up in theaters acting out Office Space?

[Grelf]

Return of The Dude
Rolling festivals celebrating 'The Big Lewbowski' hit L.A. at last

You get the idea. "The Big Lebowski" is one of those movies that not only stands up after repeated viewings, it gets better. It helps that the plot is incidental. A millionaire, who, like The Dude, is named Jeff Lebowski (a name The Dude hates: "I am not 'Mr. Lebowski.' I'm The Dude. You know, that or His Dudeness or Duder or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing.") hires The Dude to find his kidnapped daughter.

You have to wonder if the reporter ever even saw the movie.

[Shockeye]

'The Big Lebowski: Collector's Edition'
Tuesday August 23, 1:52 pm ET

Joel and Ethan Coen's Hilarious Cult Comedy Classic Starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman and Julianne Moore
Rolls Onto DVD October 18, 2005 With a Digitally Remastered Picture Plus All-New Bonus Features From Universal Studios Home Entertainment

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., Aug. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- "The Dude" is back! "The Big Lebowski," the zany existential comedy from Academy Award® winners Joel and Ethan Coen ("O Brother Where Art Thou?," "Intolerable Cruelty") returns in a Collector's Edition DVD and "Achievers Edition" gift set October 18, 2005. The Coens' follow-up to their Oscar®-winning film "Fargo," "The Big Lebowski" is a whacked out film noir about life, death, bowling and slacking off. Jeff Bridges stars as the unforgettable Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski, an unrepentant L.A. stoner who just wants someone to pay for his stained rug. Bridges is joined by a spectacular ensemble cast including John Goodman ("Monsters Inc.," "Roseanne"), Julianne Moore ("Hannibal," "The Hours"), John Turturro ("Anger Management," "Mr. Deeds"), Steve Buscemi ("Fargo," "Reservoir Dogs"), Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Magnolia," "Cold Mountain"), Tara Reid ("American Pie," "Van Wilder"), Sam Elliot ("The Hulk," "Mask") and many more.

Since its theatrical release in 1998, consumer appreciation for "The Big Lebowski's" subtly subversive humor has snowballed, transforming it from a cult favorite into a cultural phenomenon. "The Big Lebowski's" faithful followers have created dozens of Web sites devoted to the film, and every year flocks of fans attend "Lebowski Fests" in cities across the U.S. to bowl, sip White Russians and, of course, enjoy their favorite film. The October 18, 2005 release of "The Big Lebowski: Collector's Edition DVD" will offer the uninitiated a chance to find out why this film has made its mark on popular culture. The disc is priced at $19.98 SRP. "The Big Lebowski: Collector's Edition DVD" is also available in "Achiever's Edition" gift set ($49.98 SRP) featuring eight exclusive Jeff Bridges' photographs taken from the set, a bowling towel and coasters. The pre-order deadline for both editions is September 13, 2005.

                    BONUS FEATURES THAT WILL BOWL YOU OVER

Fans of "The Dude" will be bowled over by the DVD's bonus features including:

     * An introduction to the film by Mortimer Young -- Produced and directed
       by the Coen Brothers.

     * Jeff Bridges' On-Set Photos -- A brilliant photographer, Jeff Bridges
       captures life on the set of "The Big Lebowski."

     * The Making of "The Big Lebowski" -- Fans will get an inside glimpse
       into the making of this timeless favorite.

I will definitely be getting the Achiever's Edition.

[Sky]

That DVD will really tie the collection together, man.

[schild]

If I cared, I'd get the nihilists edition.

[WayAbvPar]

Say what you want about the tenets of National Socialism, but at least it's an ethos.


Yeah, I will be buying this.

[voodoolily]

If I cared, I'd get the nihilists edition.

But nihilists don't care. Does not compute! Does not compute!

[Murgos]

If I cared, I'd get the nihilists edition.

But nihilists don't care. Does not compute! Does not compute!

Please don't feed the animals.

[voodoolily]

[Shockeye]

If I cared, I'd get the nihilists edition.

But nihilists don't care. Does not compute! Does not compute!

Good job killing the joke. That's 2 demerits.

[voodoolily]

Hey, wait -where was my first demerit from? 

[Murgos]

Three words:  Double Secret Probation.

[voodoolily]

w   t   f   ?

You're just a foozle. You're not the boss of me.

Sigh. Maybe I should just go mop my floors.

[Shockeye]

Hey, wait -where was my first demerit from? 

The whole made-up words fiasco.

[voodoolily]

But did I not prove that I wasn't making it up?

[voodoolily]

And this

And this is from Dave Chapelle's forum:

He was just about to dance with this hot chick and the dj took off some bangin shit to throw on a slow cut.  I said, i know he not finnuh play this slow shit.

Finnuh is used so much that I went ahead and added it to urbandictionary.com.

FACE admins!

[Shockeye]

That's 3 demerits. Keep it up.

[WayAbvPar]

I want to add a demerit for derailing a Big Lebowski thread. Bastards!

[Fabricated]

Office Space is more the "Clockwatchers" of our generation than it is The Rocky Horror Picture Show.