Will Russell is no stranger to obsession. As a young adult he became
infatuated with the alt-rock band the Pixies and wound up tattooing
their logo on his forearm. He has also had a long-standing attachment
to his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, where he runs a small shop
that features T-shirts by local designers. He’s been passionate about
Tim Burton’s film Pee Wee’s Big Adventure for decades, having
seen it in his “formative years.” Yet, none of the aforementioned quite
compares to Russell’s fixation with the 1998 Coen Brothers’ film,
The Big Lebowski, which he’s seen too many times to count.
“Honestly, I’ve lost track,” Russell said. “I’m pretty certain that I’m
in the triple digits.” Russell knows the film so well at this point
that he can recite huge chunks of it by rote. He knows arcane bits of
Big Lebowski lore — that, for instance, Jeff Bridges’
character “the Dude” is based on a real-life member of the Seattle
Liberation Front, or that the F-word is used 281 times in the course of
the two-hour movie. “It’s hard for me to explain how a movie could be
that rewatchable, but I like to compare it to a music album,” Russell
said. “You know what’s next but it’s just so enjoyable to experience
it.”
Such sentiments inspired Russell to launch Lebowski Fest with
his friend Scott Shuffitt, back in 2002. At that time, the movie, which
had flopped at the box office but garnered a lot of critical acclaim,
was just beginning to generate its cult following. (Russell said it
took time for viewers — himself included — to appreciate
the full brilliance of the script and the characters.) Lebowski Fest
wasn’t the first of its kind, considering that Star Trek and
The Rocky Horror Picture Show had already produced similarly
arcane subcultures. But those predecessors don’t compare with Shuffitt
and Russell’s celebration of all things Lebowski, which consists of a
costumed bowling party (during which people run around dressed as Jesus
Quintana and German nihilists), themed musical performances, and, of
course, a huge film screening.
Mostly, Lebowski Fest is about paying homage to White Russians,
Seventies beater cars, Credence Clearwater Revival, and loveable
slackers who say “man” after every sentence. The attendees all hew to
the Dude’s non-competitive, laid-back ethos — thus, anything near
200 is a pretty amazing score at a Lebowski Fest bowling party. In the
seven years since its inception, the fest has expanded to fifteen
cities and generated the book I’m a Lebowski, You’re a Lebowski:
Life, The Big Lebowski, and What Have You. Still, the Coen
Brothers remain smugly above the fray. Asked by the authors for an
official statement, they said, “You have neither our blessing nor our
curse.” At some level, said Russell, they must get a kick out of the
whole thing. Lebowski Fest San Francisco Movie Party happens Saturday,
July 25, at the Fox Theater (1807 Telegraph Ave., Oakland). 7:30
p.m., $22.50 Har Mar Superstar performs. LebowskiFest.com
