Photos from the Beat
An Actor, a Writer, and an Architect Walk into a Bar...
I was lucky enough to grab a shuttle with a rowdy group from Minnesota and Jim Hoosier, who plays Liam in the The Big Lebowski. The movie is his only film credit, and he’s eager to soak up the adoration of his fans, as well as take part in the increasing weirdness that is this film festival.
Again, the question of ‘Why Lebowski Fest?’ comes up, as everyone has a theory, and everyone is ready to debate the subject. Chris Helms, a business writer from Dayton, Ohio, mused that Lebowski Fest resonates with a crowd that is constantly looking for something to validate being an outsider.
“People who like this movie, they were always the underdog, say in high school,” he said. “There’s a commonality among everyone who comes to Lebowski Fest, regardless of the reasons the originally became fans of the movie. It transcends age and societal status, and creates a common denominator that connects thousands of people.”
Similarly, John Back, an architect from Cincinnati, Ohio, said the film has a little bit of everything, from cowboys to young vixens to performance artists, and that is what pulls people toward the film. But he added that even with so many different characters to choose from and identify with, there’s also a little bit of one man -- The Dude -- in everyone.
“All of these characters influence his life and set this wild set of events in motion,” he said. “The Dude is a guy who’s almost out of control ... but not quite. Everyone can identify with that feeling.”
