By ED SALVAS
Fans of the film “The Big Lebowski” have a chance this weekend to see the 1998 Coen brothers comedy on the big screen at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank and also see live on stage Jeff Dowd, the man the Coen brothers credit with being their inspiration for “Jeff, the Dude Lebowski,” the movie’s central character.
Dowd will appear on stage at the Count Basie Theatre Saturday, April 19 at 8-p.m. to introduce the film and tell stories about his experiences and the impact that the character Jeff Lebowski has had on his life.
In reality, Dowd is a film industry veteran with a 25 year career as a Producer’s Representative, Consultant and Marketing expert, in short the consummate “go to” guy in the film industry. Dowd, who lives and works in Santa Monica, California, also helped actor Robert Redford launch the Sundance Film Festival and has had a key role in marketing a long list of film classics, including “Kissing Jessica Stein,” “Hoosiers” and “Chariots of Fire.”
“The Big Lebowski,” played on screen by Jeff Bridges, involves a case of mistaken identity when a gang of thugs mistakes an unemployed bowler named Jeff Lebowski for a millionaire by the same name in an attempt to collect on bad debts owed by the rich man’s trophy wife. The film has developed a following of people who like to quote lines from the script and what Dowd calls a “social movie”
“It’s the kind of movie people watch over and over with friends,” he says in a telephone interview from his home in California. “It’s a favorite of people with a lot of free time, people in bands who are stuck on tour buses, sports teams. It has a big Military following,” he says. He’s also been told that watching “The Big Lebowski” has become a tradition for many families at Christmas. Dowd says the film also has 12 to 15 individual scenes or sequences that have become classics with the movie’s fans.
Dowd will appear on stage at the Count Basie Theatre and after the film for a Q&A session with the audience. Dowd says he’s looking forward to the show, but jokes it’s a tough spot to be in.
“I’m booked right between sold out shows by (comedian) Lewis Black and Bruce Springsteen.” He’s made a number of appearances with the film and especially likes doing college campuses. There are also “Lebowski Fests” around the country where fans gather to talk about the film.
Dowd has been friends with Joel and Ethan Coen since their meeting in New York in 1981 and has watched their reputations rise steadily through the years with classic films like “Fargo” and “No Country for Old Men,” the Oscar winner for “Best Picture” at this year’s Academy Awards. Jeff Dowd, speaking as the film expert, says the Coen brothers success boils down to writing.
“They’re writers first,” he says, much like other successful directors Woody Allen, Alfred Hitchcock and Carl Reiner. Their films also feature memorable offbeat characters. Dowd says he got the Dude nickname in fifth or sixth grade because it sounds like Dowd and he’s been “The Dude” ever since. He grew up in Westchester County and Ithaca, New York where his father was a professor at Cornell University.
He likes the character Jeff Lebowski because “he’s someone who cuts through the bull and is like the King’s Fool who can say anything without fear of retribution.” “The Big Lebowski” also stars John Goodman as Lebowski’s bowling buddy Walter, an angry Vietnam Veteran who’s always pushing him into difficult situations. The film has produced some memorable lines that fans like to quote, especially “This aggression will not stand,” which the writers picked up from a Presidential speech by George H. W. Bush during the Gulf War.
Another favorite line, “The Dude abides,” is also the title of Dowd’s forthcoming autobiography, “The Dude Abides – Classic Tales and Rebel Rants,” which he hopes to publish later this year. Dowd was a member of the infamous Seattle Seven, a group of anti Vietnam war protesters indicted for a demonstration outside the courthouse in Seattle in 1971.
Tickets for “The Big Lebowski” at the Count Basie Theatre are $20 for the movie and the Dude Show and $40 to also attend the after party with cash bar.
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