“Old Woman.” These two simple words come up so much in the minds of moviegoers, and in particular, fans of the Coen brothers. Joel and Ethan Cohen has created some of the most memorable characters in film history. From HI Robertson (Nicolas Cage) in Raising Arizonato Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) in No Country for Old Mento Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) in Fargo, the two have teamed up to capture some of the weirdest, weirdest and most compelling roles. But perhaps none of them have been as incompetent as the Dude inside The big Lebowski.
Jeff Bridges‘ picture of Jeffrey Lebowski, known as “The Dude,” the unmotivated rationalist is one of the best in his profession, and along with John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffmanand John Turtur, you could easily make the case that the story of The Dude and his spiral back down into the middle of a kidnapping scandal is the best collection of talent the film brothers have ever assembled. The Dude has problems in the world like bills to pay, a car that breaks down, and friends who sometimes don’t give him the best advice. He loves a good white Russian, bowling, and the occasional joint too. It’s like the guy who might live upstairs from you and has a leaky waterbed that bleeds into your bedroom. So, naturally, it raises the question; Yes The big Lebowskiand the story of The Dude, based on a true story?
Is ‘The Big Lebowski’ a true story?
We can confirm that the Coen Brothers movie is great The big Lebowski a fictional story, except for a few scenes (more on that later). We were really hoping to find out that it’s based on a true story because the idea of a bunch of screw ups out there in the real world like Jeffrey Lebowski, Walter Sobchack (Goodman), and Jesus Quintana (Turturro) to live a very interesting life. praise Sobchack and Jesus are two teammates you would want on your bowling team, right? But the good news is that The Dude is at least partly based on a real named person Jeff Dowd. And to make things even better, Dowd also prefers a well-made White Russian, saying, “It’s actually a melted ice cream cone that you can buy in a bar. ” We couldn’t agree more! But what else about the man who chose the Coen brothers to base The Dude on reality, and what is fiction?
How did the Coen Brothers meet Dowd?
The Coen brothers met Jeff Dowd in 1981 while working with him Robert Redford has been creating the now infamous cinematic launching pad known as The Sundance Film Festival. The Coens were in the early stages of working on promotional materials for their thriller Simple blood. After working closely with Dowd for weeks putting together a marketing campaign for the film, they discovered that Dowd’s nickname was “The Dude”. That’s pretty awesome in itself, but after being around the oddball Dowd for a long time, the Coens started picking up on his methods, characteristics, and unusual outlook on life. They stayed in touch and crossed paths several times in the 80’s as Dowd was a very prominent marketing executive. Over ten years later, the directors would make a film about their experience and time spent with Dowd and the end result is the cinematic goodness that is the 1998 film, The big Lebowski.
Which parts of ‘The Big Lebowski’ are true?
As we said, Dowd likes a good White Russian. Does he drink them to the exclusion of all other alcoholic beverages? Not quite. Dowd addressed the White Russian motif in the film saying that while he won’t turn down the cocktail when offered, he won’t drink them all the time. He said in an interview with HuffPost, “I drank White Russians the same way when you were in college, it was Tequila Sunrises one month or one season and Harvey Wallbangers the next and then the Russians White.” The Coen brothers decided to focus on White Russia because they could have more fun with something simpler like a vodka soda.
According to the 2009 documentary The Achievements: The Story of Lebowski Fans, another true anecdote from the film was Dowd telling the Coen brothers his thoughts on how a small rug he had just acquired for his home “really made the room” – an unforgettable line in the film. Finally, the sequence in the film where The Dude and Sobchack go to get the car stolen by Lebowski from a police tow truck is also completely based on real events. When they get the car back, they find an eighth grader’s homework in the back seat. according to The Achievers, this actually happened to a colleague of the Dowd’s, and as shown in the film, they go to the boy’s house to confront him believing that he stole the car. The part where Sobchack presents the boy’s homework in a plastic bag as evidence happened!
Dowd has turned the character into real fame
When The big Lebowski in theaters in 1998, it was not a huge commercial success, making just over $5.5 million in its opening weekend, but since The Dude went on to become a -a cult following of misunderstood slackers around the world, Dowd has gained more and more recognition. . Over the past few decades, he has gone on to capitalize on the character’s popularity by traveling the country and engaging in speaking engagements in front of fans. hard the film that ironically, calling themselves “The Achievers” (hence, the name of the documentary, The Achievers). Dowd has also used his platform to highlight his political activism in the 70s, including protesting the Vietnam War as part of “The Seattle Seven”. In the film, The Dude mentions taking part in the political revolution to Julianne Moore’s character while they lie in bed next to each other. It seems like it needs too much encouragement than the Jeff Bridges and Coen brother’s version of The Dude would be willing to invest, but it’s a great story, nonetheless. If you have a little more than six minutes, do yourself a favor and check out this clip of Jeff Dowd and what he’s up to these days. Until then, remember, “The Dude abides…”
