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Tag: The Dude

  • Lebowski Fest: Jeff Bridges, Fans Celebrate Film

    Trekkies have nothing on the Dude-ers.

    Hundreds packed the Wiltern Theater in midtown Los Angeles Friday to pay homage to Joel and Ethan Coen‘s 1998 cult film The Big Lebowski.

    Even the Dude himself, Jeff Bridges, performed with his band.

    The theater was decked out with inflatable bowling pins and the drink menu featured white Russians “made with Ralphs half-and -half,” in honor of the film’s opening scene when the Dude writes a check for 69 cents to buy half-and-half from a Ralphs supermarket to make his favorite drink.

    This is the13th year of the annual two-day festival that celebrates the Dude, bowling, white bathrobes and White Russians.

    Fan Steve Lewis has never missed a Lebowski Fest.

    “It’s the people here that are so awesome,” said Lewis, who says he has seen the film more than 100 times. “It’s a community.”

    The 37-year-old went so far as to make his own Army dog tags to recreate one of John Goodman’s costumes from the film. Lewis has been to 11 festivals and has traveled to festivals in New York and Louisville with his friend J.D. Lloyd, who searched eBay to find the exact sweater Bridges wears in the film.

    “That’s a real Pendleton,” Lewis said. “That was expensive.”

    Connor Linnerooth, 20, who traveled from North Dakota to celebrate his birthday at the fest, wore a red bodysuit and carried oversized scissors like the character that terrorizes the Dude in his dreams.

    “Lebowski, he is a very cool guy,” he said, speaking in character. “I love the movie and I’m a big fan of it, and I really wanted to be around other people who are also big fans of the movie.”

    Matt Goforth tended bar in costume and said he’s been looking forward to the event for months.

    “First of all, I knew it was going to be a good crowd. Second of all, it’s a fantastic movie. Thirdly, Jeff Bridges’ band is amazing,” Goforth said. “It’s fun. I’ve had my picture taken maybe 35 times. It’s just a great atmosphere.”

    Friday night ended with a screening of the film, peppered with fans yelling out lines and cheering for favorite scenes.

    Saturday’s event featured a costumed bowling party.

    Mike Sullivan, a four-time festival-goer who says he’s memorized the movie, has a theory about the fest’s success.

    “What you got here,” he said, “is a bunch of pot-smoking hippies having a good time.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Tara Lipinski Honors Jimmy Fallon On Ice as The Dude

    Tara Lipinski honored late night host Jimmy Fallon this week as he finishes up his job as host of Late Night. She did so in a hilarious skit on ice, where she channeled ‘The Dude’ from The Big Lebowski. It aired while Tara was a guest on Fallon’s show.

    Dressing in a bathrobe and carrying a White Russian while skating is no small feat, but Lipinski pulled it off flawlessly in honor of Fallon, who will soon go on to host The Tonight Show as Jay Leno retires from that spot later this week. Her drink was what ‘The Dude’ in The Big Lebowski drank.

    Despite being significantly older than when she won Olympic gold at 15 back in 1998, Tara Lipinski still has amazing moves. ‘Moves’ seem to be an appropriate theme while guest starring on late night TV shows this week, as one host moves out and another moves on.

    The music used in her ice skating skit came straight from the movie, too. Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) was no doubt playing over and over in Tara’s head (and maybe Jimmy Fallon’s, too) for days!

    Lipinski tweeted word of skating with a White Russian, a la The Big Lebowski, to her fans.

    She shared the following Instagram photo, too.

    Jimmy Fallon used Twitter to call Tara a “rock star.”

    Tara Lipinski is now in Sochi, reporting on Team USA at the Olympics. Hopefully she catches a break, enjoys a nice cold White Russian, and gets that song out of her head in time to watch the Team USA skaters bring home the gold, as she did as a teenager.

    Image via YouTube