The traveling festival that celebrates the cult-comedy The Big Lebowski goes overseas in suppport of new book, I'm a Lebowski, You're a Lebowski.
What began as a small gathering of fans in a bowling alley in Louisville, Kentucky in 2002, has grown into an international phenomenon. After holding sold-out events in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Las Vegas, Austin and other US cities, Lebowski Fest is heading across the pond for its first international event.
Lebowski Fest UK will be held in Edinburgh, Scotland on August 24th and London, England on August 30th, 2007. The events will be held in conjunction with the release of a new fan book written by the creators of Lebowski Fest.
I'm a Lebowski, You're a Lebowski (Bloomsbury/Canongate) hits the streets on August 21st, 2007. The book features a foreword and behind-the-scenes photos by Jeff Bridges, who plays the film's main character of "The Dude". It includes interviews with virtually every actor from the film including John Goodman, Julianne Moore, and John Turturro as well as the inspirations for the film's characters, such as Jeff Dowd (The Dude) and John Milius (Walter).
Fans of the movie (also known as "Achievers") are also interviewed including Patton Oswalt, Tony Hawk and Powerpuff Girls creator Craig McCracken. The book is full of trivia, images from the film and Lebowski Fest highlights.
It is available for pre-order now for $16.95 US and ?12.99 UK. More on the book at www.LebowskiFest.com.
Lebowski Fest UK tickets go on sale June 15th, 2007 and are available online through www.LebowskiFest.comand www.TicketWeb.co.uk. The events feature bowling, costume and trivia contests, as well as plenty of White Russians (The Dude's favorite drink). The Bowling Party in Edinburgh will be followed by an after-party at Club eGo with bands (tba) and a screening of the movie.
Lebowski Fest was started by two fans, Will Russell (31) and Scott Shuffitt (34), in their hometown of Louisville, Kentucky on October 12th, 2002. The two spawned the idea while selling shirts, bored at a tattoo convention and quoting lines from the movie to pass the time. When fellow vendors joined in on the quoting, they realized they were not alone and set out to have a party in a bowling alley to celebrate their favorite movie. Thinking only a few friends would show up, Will and Scott were shocked to see 150 fellow fans come out. After a surprise mention in SPIN Magazine's "19 Events you Can't Miss" in summer of 2003, the 2nd Annual Lebowski Fest attracted 1200 fans from 35 states and abroad as well as the first appearance by the man who inspired the film's main character, Jeff "The Dude" Dowd.
Lebowski Fest continues to grow and expand to other cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Austin, Seattle with the Annual Event being held in Louisville, Kentucky each year. Lebowski Fest recently announced its first international event, Lebowski Fest UK to be held in Edinburgh and London. The event typically consists of live music, a screening of the movie, a bowling event with wild costumes, trivia contests, unlimited bowling, White Russians and what-have-you.
