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News has been a bit slow lately, but a brother shamus tipped us off to a nicely organized Lebowski-themed time killer called Lebowski Quotes. Every line, character, and location is neatly organized to help deconstruct and distribute the masterpiece that is The Big Lebowski. “It’s Hey, uh, phfff, maybe they and we could pool our resources–trade information–uh, professional courtesy–”
Movie maker, Jason Reitman, has been putting on live readings of movie screenplays in LA including The Princess Bride and Reservoir Dogs. The final one is to be The Big Lebowski. Actors, Patton Oswalt, Hank Azaria and Nick Kroll will be among the folks doing their damndest to cover all of the characters from the movie. Apparently, he has secured the “perfect actor” to play The Dude but he won’t reveal who till next week. Intriguing. Reitman says;
“There will be a moment when the three nihilist will be played by Patton, Nick, and Hank, and we’ll be getting each of their German accents.
“It’s [the movie] structurally perfect. It’s like a satire of film noir, but it’s one of the best film noirs. The dialogue is impeccable. … It’s further proof that if you’re that talented you can break any rule you want. At its core, the purpose of the [live-read] series is to celebrate great writing. There’s not much better writing than the Coen Brothers.”
Here’s a GREAT poster for the event;
Now, there are getting to be too many such things, but I think these two are simply brilliant and I would LOVE to have both hanging in my living room. Artist Joshua Budich is to thank for these great Big Lebowksi triptychs! Click on the images to zoom to Reelizer where you can check out higher resolution versions.
The Guardian has a great piece about Jeff Bridges. Basically it’s a bunch of quotes from people who’ve had the pleasure to have worked with him. Among those quoted are long time Coen collaborators, costume designer, Mary Zophres and cinematographer extraordinaire, Roger Deakins.
Mary Zophres
Costume designer: The Big Lebowski (1998), True Grit (2010)
“Jeff is one of the most fun actors I’ve ever dressed. He’s the definition of a character actor. Not all actors are helped by their costume, and he’s an example of someone who is. Because the costume fitting happens so early on in the process, we’re sort of the first information he gets about the character. He was doing press for Crazy Heart while he was preparing for True Grit, but I had done all this research, so I had all this information that I was sharing with him about the historical period. He took it in like a sponge. He loves the costume fitting because it helps put him in that era. On the fittings for both True Grit and The Big Lebowski, there was a distinct moment where his posture changed and he went into character right before my eyes. That is such a thrill for a costume designer – it’s why I do movies, to contribute to the story by helping an actor find his character.
Jeff makes acting look like no big deal, but he can only pull that off because he puts in so much preparation. On Lebowski, he had all these notes all over the script – from front to back, in the margins, everywhere. He thinks a lot about everything but at the same time he’s very loose. I’m still amazed by his performance in True Grit: so much of what an actor communicates is in the eyes, and yet he brought all that nuance while wearing an eye patch. He’s been good in everything he’s been in. You look at all the characters he’s played and you can never see the acting. Look at Starman: I love him in that. I’d never seen anybody play an alien like that before.”
Roger Deakins
Cinematographer: The Big Lebowski, True Grit
“It was the funniest and most unexpected thing seeing Jeff in costume for the first time on Lebowski. I’d seen him mostly as a serious actor, things like The Last Picture Show and The Fabulous Baker Boys, so to suddenly see him on set as this dishevelled, ageing ex-hippy was very funny, and quite a transformation. Jeff is so much of the film really. We held the focus on him a lot because there’s a subtlety to his comedy that takes a while to hit you. It’s not laugh-out-loud straight away; you’ve gotta keep your eye on him, the way he develops the character, and that’s where the comedy comes from. You’ve gotta watch him pour his White Russian and spill it everywhere.
Joel and Ethan [Coen] had never used playback so they were a bit sceptical about how much time it would take on Lebowski. But Jeff was funny; as soon as they called “Cut”, he’d rush over to the playback guy and watch the take . In the time it took us to put the board on for the next shot, he’d run back and be in position for the next shot. He did it on True Grit, too. I guess it’s to see how he’s coming across: is the performance that he’s doing and feeling coming over on camera?”
Far out, man! Universal Home Entertainment have let the cat out of the bag regarding the specs and special features of their The Big Lebowski: Limited Edition Blu-ray due for release on 16th August. Most importantly it is a brand new transfer, not merely a re-do of the 2007 HD-DVD release. It’ll be 1080p (of course) presented in it’s original theatrical 1.85:1 aspect ratio with a DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack and even a digital copy. It comes in a lovely looking 28 page booklet and has a bunch of new special features on top of those present in the 2008 10th Anniversary Edition DVD;
New Special Features:
Additional Special Features:
The disconcerting thing (for me at least- I’m in the UK!), is that it will be a genuine limited edition- being available for only a set time although they haven’t stated how long as yet. However previous Universal releases have been region free so it should work outside of the US/Canada.
Dudes, get your diaries out right now! The Big Lebowski is coming to Blu-ray on August 16th according to the Canadian branch of Universal Home Entertainment! Nothing is know at present except for this tantalising image of the awesome artwork / booklet! I think this will really tie my movie collection together!
That’s right! The LA Times is reporting that the wonderful cardigan worn by Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski is up for auction on Saturday! Hollywood Memorabilia are having an auction at the Saban Theater (8440 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills) as well as online (through icollector.com), and the current highest bid is already $10,000!
Also, tantalisingly, the company that made the original, Pendleton Woolen Mill, will apparently be selling new ones from September — for a more affordable $188.
I’m just gonna go find a cash machine…
Jeff Yorkes is an LA-based film editor and, in his spare time, he puts together really tremendous “Cinemashups” where he couples a fitting piece of music to a movie and re-edits it to really tie together. He’s been in touch to alert me to this- his genuinely amazing and hilarious mash-up of The Big Lebowski and Quincy Jones’s ‘The Dude’. Check it out below and pay attention to the lyrics and how Jeff has married them to the images.
JY CINEMASHUP – The Dude from Jeff Yorkes on Vimeo.
Brilliant stuff! Here’s hoping he does more Coen brothers-related ones.
Popped Culture is an inspired website/blog that you should keep an eye on. Lately it has featured two frankly bonkers Coen brothers poster mash-ups. First up is the amazing The Big Lebowski / Jaws munge by Dave MacDowell…
Secondly is Stefan Fahler’s Barton Fink / Kill Bill mash-up…
I followed a tweet to this frankly awesome site, Reelizer, where artists submit their re-dos of movie posters. Obviously there are a bunch of Coen brothers inspired ones like the Hudsucker Proxy and Big Lebowski ones below.
These things are usually pretty bloody gorgeous and these are no exception. I found the two above plus ones for True Grit, No Country For Old Men, a crazy one for Raising Arizona and another for Lebowski and True Grit.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to apologise for being a bit lazy with the site over the last few months. Unfortunately real life has stepped in and got in the way. Normal service will, hopefully, be resumed very shortly.