Jeff Bridges, an actor who will always be known for his iconic role as “The Dude” in The Big Lebowski had no problem getting down with fans of the cult film this weekend.
The actor, who is now an Academy Award winner decided to make an appearance with his band the Abiders for the Lebowski Fest. Of course the star was the biggest act seeing as this fest wouldn’t exist without him.
Fans of the 1998 Ethan Coen cult comedy gathered in the Wiltern Theater in midtown Los Angeles for the celebration. Amazingly this festival has been around since 2002. the Big Lebowski festival is a two-day party which ended on Saturday with what else, but a costumed bowling party. The fest is all in good fun for fans who want to celebrate the film.
Back in 2012 Jeff Bridges opened up on his Dude philosophies and The Big Lebowski. In an interview with Rolling Stone, the actor said about the message of the film:
“Life is funny, you can find the humor in it. Bernie Glassman, who is a Zen master said to me one day, “You realize that many people in the Buddhist community look at the Dude as a Zen master?” And I said, “You’ve gotta be kidding me.” He says, “Mo, The Big Lebowski is riddled with koans” (things that don’t necessarily have an answer).”
Of the cult status the film garnered after its initial release Bridges said :
“Well, maybe a part of it is that it wasn’t a success when it came out. I think there’s a real joy in going to see movies when you discover them yourself. If somebody hasn’t seen The Big Lebowski, you say, “Oh great, you’ve got something great in store for you.” It’s something that gives joy to the person who’s turning them on to the movie, joy for the people who’re seeing it.”
For the festival Jeff Bridges performed songs from his Academy Award winning film Crazy Heart , as well as other songs. Kyle Glass, who is known for being Jack Black’s other half in Tenacious D opened the show with a few songs that was inspired by The Big Lebowski .
This isn’t the only time Bridges has dabbled in music. In 2011 the actor released an album that was produced by T Bone Burnett who was the man behind Crazy Heart and the 2013 Coen Brothers film Inside Llewyn Davis .
In attendance were other minor stars who were on hand to sign autographs in the lobby before the show started.
[Image Credit: Universal Studios]
