I.R. In what ways are you like the Dude in "The Big Lebowski"? In what ways are you different?
J.D. Well, you know, obviously I'm not the laziest guy in the world at this point in history. Even though I asked my girlfriend the other day to hand me the clicker, which was six inches away from me on the bed.
I.R. [laughter]
J.D. But that being said, I'm a very active guy in the movie business: working on scripts, productions, post-productions, and marketing movies. I'm very passionate, and I work with a lot of passionate people. But I'd have to be, to do it right.
But you know, I think one of the things that people like about the Dude character—as opposed to the Big Lebowski, the guy in the movie [played by David Huddleston], the other Lebowski—is that he has a certain attitude and a BS monitor that's pretty good. And he's able to see through the bulls**t. Either Walter's bulls**t or the Big Lebowski's bulls**t or somebody else's. And I think in a world full of that, they would turn on the news and listen to our so-called leaders and others. You know, and often tragically so. I think people appreciate somebody who has that sense, because so many people have to go to work every day and put on their costumes, their masks in the corporate world. And I think that they have an appreciation for somebody who understands that a lot of that's not the way it should be, and that that's not who we really are. So in that sense, there's a similarity. You know. I have opinions about things. And, you know, I'm an opinionated guy, and in many ways the Dude is too.
I.R. Do you have any theories as to why "The Big Lebowski" has become a cult film and why so many people find the character of the Dude so fascinating and loveable?
J.D. Yes. And obviously this kind of came to me as a student of it, so to speak, over time. Because obviously it wasn't when it was first released. And then, it slowly became that.
One of the ways, just from a personal point of view, was I would channel-surf into this thing. And I was talking to Jeff Bridges, and Jeff says the same thing too. Initially, before owning the DVD, I would channel-surf into this thing. And I'd seen it like three times. They first showed it to me. Then I saw it at Sundance. I think the first time I went to some opening out here. And I had seen it in theaters. And then I didn't see it for a long time.
And then I'm watching Showtime or HBO, and like boom—I channel-surf into a scene. I started watching it. And I'm thinking, wow, this is really good. And I keep watching it for like 20 minutes, and then I fall asleep or go somewhere, and then watch the rest of it. And then a month later, and I channel-surf and it's the same thing. And I think like wow.
And in that sense, what I realized is that it's kind of like an album. Some albums have good songs on them. And there are other albums—the great classics—that have like a dozen good songs on them.
And this movie has like more than a dozen really good sequences that stand unto themselves. I mean you go right into the opening frame of the Jesus [a Latino character played by John Turturro] sequence, and it's brilliant. It's hilarious. Every frame should be there, just like a great Billy Wilder movie. I wouldn't pull a frame out of "Some Like It Hot." Not a frame. And you look at that Jesus sequence and go, "Wow! That's fantastic!" Or you look at the Jackie Treehorn [played by Ben Gazzara] sequence. Or you look at … You can go on and on. You know, they're wonderful sequences. And just like you'd return to an album, you'd return to this movie.
Page 3: Jeff Dowd on "The Big Lebowski" being a fun movie to watch with friends.