The second annual Lebowskifest this past weekend was a huge success. I think "The Big Lebowski" is my favourite Coen Brothers movie so, I liked it the first time I saw it, and get something out of it everytime I see it. In contrast "The Hudsucker Proxy", it took three viewings before I went, "okay, I think I get it" (didn't dislike it, just didn't like it). With the recent release of "Blood Simple", "Miller's Crossing" and "Barton Fink" on DVD, now is a good time to go over the Coen Brothers movies.

By JOSHUA HAMMANN, Associated Press Writer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Real Lebowski lives. And people love him.

Jeff Dowd, the inspiration for the main character in the Coen brothers' 1998 mistaken identity comedy "The Big Lebowski," joined more than a thousand fans at the second annual Lebowski Fest — a celebration of bowling, white Russians and all things Lebowski.

The film "has a rewatchability that most other films don't," said Russell Cooley, a 25-year-old research analyst from Madison, Wis., who drove more than 10 hours to attend. "You can watch it over and over again and it's still funny."

(snip) ...

Dowd met Joel and Ethan Coen ( news ) in 1981 and helped them secure a distribution deal for their first film, 1984's "Blood Simple." Now 53, The Dude has remained friends with the brothers and had parts of his past infused into the character.

"That's the moment that Joel and Ethan were capturing," said Dowd, who remains a fixture in independent film consulting. "When we were just kind of hanging."

The film was not as well received as other Coen films, such as "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," "Fargo," and "Raising Arizona," but included the quirky characters and comedy that have become the brothers' calling card.

Russell and Shuffitt, lifelong friends, first conceived the notion of the Lebowski Fest while running a T-shirt and sticker booth at a tattoo convention. The pair found a small, affordable bowling alley, printed up $30 worth of flyers and waited to see what would happen. Russell is a Web developer and Shuffitt designs T-shirts and concert posters.