By The funniest movie ever made, The Big Lebowski, was not a success, initially. Critical reception was tepid and people just didn’t show up. It’s hard to imagine why. Regardless of it being a very different movie than Fargo, it still immediately followed that Academy Award winning film. But Lebowski found its legs over time, becoming a massive cult favorite that grew into a full born festival, known as Lebowski Fest. Tribute books were published, as well of a series of essays under the collective title “A Year in Lebowski Studies.” Even a store exists in Greenwich Village called The Little Lebowski, stocking Dude paraphernalia.
The current Lebowski Fest in NYC is doing something never before accomplished to my knowledge. Tonight, the entire primary cast will assemble on stage for a moderated discussion, spare Tara Reid, who’s been hard at work on a sequel. The event features beer, bowling, and a band performance led by none other than The Dude himself, Jeff Bridges.
Sadly, I won’t be on scene to celebrate the release of Jeff’s new album (probably to get him to show up) and the Blu-ray release of The Big Lebowski. I won’t even buy that Blu-ray, still pissed that the Coens refuse to provide a commentary track. At 6:30pm EST a pre-show begins, hosted by Jeff Dowd, on whom The Dude was loosely based, with the cast taking the stage at 8.