Rewatchables Reference

• For the role of Jeffrey Lebowski ('The Big Lebowski', not The Dude): the Coens' dream was Marlon Brando. Also considered Robert Duvall (didn't care for the script), Anthony Hopkins (didn't want to play an American), and Gene Hackman (taking a break from acting).
• The B-list included Norman Mailer, George C. Scott, Jerry Falwell, Gore Vidal, Andy Griffith, William F. Buckley, George Plimpton, and Orson Bean. They ended up with David Huddleston.
• The Goodman and Buscemi roles were written specifically for them – no what-ifs there.

• Chris's pick: 'Over the line' – the Smokey scene where Walter pulls a piece over a bowling league violation. The violence right underneath the scene, the escalation from a foot foul to a gun. 'Am I the only one around here who gives a shit about the rules?'
• Jason and Shoemaker's pick: The Dude meeting Brandt (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and then 'The Big Lebowski' for the first time. Hoffman is unbelievably funny – the way he slaps his thighs, his nervousness about the Dude touching the plaques. Then the Big Lebowski lectures the Dude: 'Get a job, sir.' The perfect balancing act of incredible volume on one side and the blissed-out Dude on the other.
• Other nominees: the pre-credits/credit sequence (hard cut to 'The Man in Me' by Bob Dylan), the Jesus/Turturro scene, the Chinaman/rug conversation, the dude's conversation with Sam Elliott, the 'forget about the toe' diner scene, the Jackie Treehorn pad doodle gag.

• The setting – bowling alleys haven't changed in 45 years, the Ralph's still looks like that, the weird LA apartment complexes with the fountain in the middle are still there. You can still go on a Big Lebowski tour AND a Raymond Chandler's LA tour.
• The timelessness – no cell phones, no computers, no gadgets. Tied to the '90s with the George Bush clips but floats outside of time. If you said it came out last year or in 1988, you'd believe it.
• Shoemaker: the emotional connection to the characters. As a college student it was a pregaming movie. Watching it again, when Walter eulogizes Donnie and accidentally throws the ashes in his face, and they hug, and they say 'let's go bowling' – he really cares about these guys now.
• The Jackie Treehorn 'interactive erotica' speech aged beautifully – he was basically predicting deepfakes 20 years early.

• The Turturro character – if you examine it, the pedophile jokes are a little tough. If you keep it unexamined, it's hilarious.
• Bunny Lebowski / Tara Reid – given everything that happened to Tara Reid over the last 20 years, the character is positioned as 'dumb porn actress trophy wife gold digger' and that's it. Not great cultural politics.
• The vape pen question: if the Dude had a vape pen instead of a joint, all the sight gags (dropping the roach in his lap) are gone. Weed culture is mainstream now in a way it wasn't, and this movie probably had something to do with that.

• Bunny's real name in the original script was Fawn Gunderson – Coen Brothers expanded universe connecting to 'Fargo'.
• Walter is partly based on Apocalypse Now screenwriter John Milius. Many characters are composites of guys the Coens met while financing Blood Simple.
• The Dude is based on Peter Exeline (a USC teacher), Jeff Dowd, and Jeff Bridges himself.
• Cut from the script: the Dude's money came from a Rubik's Cube trust fund, and the ending originally revealed Walter was never actually a vet.

• Philip Seymour Hoffman as Brandt – he's almost in a different movie in every scene he's in. The way he slaps his thighs to Tara Reid's line about paying to watch. The repetition in his phrasing ('wonderful woman'). He has like 11 things he knows how to say. The nervousness about the Dude touching the plaques.
• Other nominees: Peter Stormare as Uli Kunkel (between this and 'Fargo', incredible reputation), David Thewlis as Knox Harrington (whatever the hell he's doing – speaking German and laughing), Ben Gazzara as Jackie Treehorn (underrated – particular kind of guy to pull off the white suit Malibu rich guy), Dom Irera as the limo driver (comes in very hot, Spinal Tap-ish, then gone), Jimmy Dale Gilmore as Smokey.

• John Goodman – 'Is there ever been anything better in the world than Goodman in this movie?' One of the iconic performances of the last 20 years. He's very insecure in real life and surprised to hear anyone thinks his work is good.
• Jeff Bridges – this was transformative. Before this he was the handsomest guy in the movie who enunciated. After this, basically every performance is mumbles and looks like he's from Oklahoma even though he grew up in LA. He's more comfortable acting this way than in Jagged Edge.
• Steve Buscemi – before this was Mr. Pink, a guy in a lot of Indies. After this, everybody knows who Steve Buscemi is and how to pronounce his name.
• John Turturro – 'Nobody fucks with the Jesus' is more in the cultural imagination than the Dude himself. He got to make a whole other movie out of his character.
• Coen Brothers – top five, but not their Apex Mountain. They're a little dismissive of this one.

Julianne Moore – 'very jacked up performance.' Came in right off the set of The Lost World. Enters the movie full frontal nude on a harness. She's doing Mary Astor from a Bogart movie – the dame who wanders in, smarter than the detective. Based on a 70s modern artist and Yoko Ono.

• The Dude's landlord – an extra thread that doesn't quite land, though 'can you give me notes?' is a great line and very LA.
• The Busby Berkeley dream sequences – an acknowledgment of acid flashbacks and a film reference, but one of the few things you can skip on rewatch. Like skipping the flute section in Anchorman.
• The ending – the movie just kind of... ends. Where is Bunny Lebowski? Is the Dude going to have a child? No closure on the McGuffins. It makes sense in context, but at the time it was jarring.

Danny Trejo – 'unequivocally yes.' But his self-aware parody style might grate in a movie where every character is already a deliberately inverted type.

• Chris: Jeff Bridges – it defined the last part of his career. He is that guy now.
• Sean: John Turturro – nobody fucks with the Jesus is more iconic than the Dude himself. He got a whole other movie out of his character.
• Shoemaker: Jeff Bridges.
• Jason: John Goodman – 'definitely Goodman. One of the funniest performances I've ever seen.'