Tuesday, September 2, 2008

This aggression will not stand, man

Over the weekend it was brought to my attention that 2008 marks the 10th Anniversary of the release of The Big Lewobski. Some trivia from IMDB and the article "The Decade of the Dude" from the September 4, 2008, issue of Rolling Stone:

- Joel and Ethan Coen originally tried to cast Mel Gibson in the role of the Dude. Gibson wouldn't take the pitch seriously.
- A lot of the Dude's clothes in the movie were Jeff Bridge's own clothes. He still has the brown cardigan sweater and the Jellies sandals.
- John Goodman still has Walter's army jacket and vest.
- There was a professional bowling instructor on set.
- Steve Buscemi and John Turturro, who both live in New York, practiced bowling together at the Melody Lanes in Brooklyn.
- Tara Reid beat out Charlize Theron for the role of Bunny Lebowski.
- One of the most memorable characters is the purple jumpsuit-clad bowler/registered sex offender The Jesus, played by John Turturro. He is only on screen for three minutes.
- The purple jumpsuit was given to a thrift shop after completion of the film.
- The word "dude" is used 161 times in the movie.
- The F-word or a variation of the F-word is used 281 times. See The Effin' Short Lebowski (warning - NOT SAFE FOR WORK!)
- The Dude says "man" 147 times in the movie, nearly 1.5 times a minute.
- The only time Donny doesn't get a strike is before they fight the Nihilists at the end of the movie.
- The Dude drinks nine White Russians during the course of the movie. Jeff Bridges prefers Black Russians.
- The Dude's car is a 4-door 1973 Ford Torino. Two vehicles were used in filming: one was destroyed during the filming, the other was destroyed in Season 8 of "The X-Files" in an episode called "Salvage".
- The Dude tells Maude Lebowski he was a roadie for Metallica on their (fictional) Speed of Sound Tour and refers to the band members as a "bunch of assholes." Metallica loved this reference.
- In the scene in a cab the Dude yells at the driver, "I hate the fuckin' Eagles, man!" Glenn Frey was not amused.
- The film bombed at the box office. The late Gene Siskel gave it a "thumbs down." Domestically, it only gross $17 million, just over its $15 million budget.
- To date DVD sales have grossed over $40 million.

A Tenth Anniversary Limited Edition DVD set in a special bowling ball case will be available on September 9.



"Wouldn't hold out much hope for the tape deck though."
"Or the Creedence."


A movie like this obviously has a killer soundtrack. One of the only criticisms I have of the soundtrack is the lack of Creedence Clearwater Revival tracks. Here are two of the more well known songs from the soundtrack, plus some Creedence tracks that were in the movie, but didn't make the soundtrack.

Bob Dylan - The Man in Me.mp3
Kenny Rogers & the First Edition - Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In).mp3
Buy: The Big Lebowski Soundtrack (1998)

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Run Through the Jungle.mp3
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Lookin' Out My Backdoor.mp3
Buy: Chronicle, Vol. 1: The 20 Greatest Hits (1990, originally released in 1976)

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