/Film New York: Video And Highlights From ‘The Big Lebowski’ Cast Reunion And Screening
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Bowling shirts and bathrobes packed the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City Tuesday night for a cast reunion and screening ofThe Big Lebowski, in honor of the film’s limited edition Blu-ray release. On hand to discuss the beloved cult classic were musical archivistT-Bone Burnettand starsJeff Bridges,John Turturro,Julianne Moore,John Goodman,Steve Buscemi, each of whom walked on stage to thunderous applause and much yelling of quotes from the film.
Organized by Universal Studios Home Entertainment in conjunction withLebowski Fest, the evening kicked off with a spirited Q&A hosted byEntertainment Weeklywriter andLebowskisuperfanClark Collisbefore moving into a full-length screening of the cult classic. And yours truly was there in the middle of it all, guzzling watered-down White Russians and singing along to “The Man in Me” with the best of them. Check out video and higlights from the event after the jump. (Spoilers followif you’ve never seenThe Big Lebowski, although if you’ve never seenThe Big Lebowski, I’m surprised you’re still reading.)
Or, if you can’t be bothered to sit through the whole thing, here are a few highlights from the Q&A. Goodman was perhaps the most enthusiastic — he spent much of the panel referencing lines from the film, much to the fans' delight. Buscemi and Turturro got a few good lines in as well:
Also present at the event, though not onstage, wereJeff Dowd, a.k.a. the original Dude, andJames G. Hoosier, who played the Jesus' bowling partner Liam in the film. The panel was followed by a screening of the film in its entirety. As you might expect, fans yelled along to their favorite lines and sang along to the soundtrack. All in all, it was a pretty amazing night to be aLebowskifan. The energy in the room was palpable, and the cast and crew members gamely played along.
The crazy thing, of course, is that when the film was originally released 13 years ago, no one could’ve predicted the movie would ever hit it this big. Though the film received mostly positive reviews from critics, it was a flop at the box office. Over the past decade, however, the cult of Lebowski has grown to the extent that Lebowski Fest draws crowds whenever it hits a new town. The movie has inspired multiple books, countless works of fan art, and aShakespeare-flavored stage play. There’s even an entireLebowski-themed gift shopin the West Village — the owner comes into work every day in a bathrobe. Not bad for a movie that only pulled in $17 million when it first hit theaters.
The Big Lebowskilimited-edition Blu-ray is now available for purchase. Head over toAmazonfor a list of its special features and extras, which includes a booklet of photos taken by Bridges on set.
[Header image courtesy of Diane Bondareff/AP Images for Universal Studios Home Entertainment]
