This year marks the 15th anniversary of “The Big Lebowski,” a film that baffled critics and audiences but has spawned perhaps the most loyal cult following of any movie released in recent years.
The epicenter of Lebowksi re-evaluation is Louisville, Kentucky, home of the inaugural Lebowski Fest, a celebration that has brought fans of “The Dude,” as he’s known, together for the last dozen years, and has been replicated across the country.
Joseph Lord from Here & Now contributing station WFPL went to the 12th annual Lebowski Fest in Louisville this weekend to find out what it is exactly that inspires the fans’ devotion.
Reporter
- Joseph Lord, online managing editor for WFPL in Louisville, Kentucky. He tweets @joseph_lord.
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![Actors Jeff Bridges, John Goodman and Steve Buscemi are pictured in a scene from "The Big Lebowski." (Working Title Films)](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/38e6376/2147483647/strip/true/resize/880x^/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fhereandnow.wbur.org%2Ffiles%2F2013%2F07%2Fbig-lebowski.jpg)
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![A participants dressed a Jeff Bridges's character Jeffrey Lebowski ("The Dude") bowls at the 12th annual Lebowski Fest in Louisville, Kentucky. (Joseph Lord/WFPL)](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/74934c0/2147483647/strip/true/resize/880x^/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fhereandnow.wbur.org%2Ffiles%2F2013%2F07%2Fbig-lebowski1.jpeg)
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![A participants dressed a Jeff Bridges's character Jeffrey Lebowski ("The Dude") bowls at the 12th annual Lebowski Fest in Louisville, Kentucky. (Joseph Lord/WFPL)](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/6f71545/2147483647/strip/true/resize/880x^/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fhereandnow.wbur.org%2Ffiles%2F2013%2F07%2Fbig-lebowski2.jpeg)
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![A participants dressed a Jeff Bridges's character Jeffrey Lebowski ("The Dude") bowls at the 12th annual Lebowski Fest in Louisville, Kentucky. (Joseph Lord/WFPL)](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/6fd27a7/2147483647/strip/true/resize/880x^/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fhereandnow.wbur.org%2Ffiles%2F2013%2F07%2Fbig-lebowski3.jpeg)
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![A participants dressed a Jeff Bridges's character Jeffrey Lebowski ("The Dude") bowls at the 12th annual Lebowski Fest in Louisville, Kentucky. (Joseph Lord/WFPL)](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/2a71e3f/2147483647/strip/true/resize/880x^/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fhereandnow.wbur.org%2Ffiles%2F2013%2F07%2Fbig-lebowski4.jpeg)
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