‘The Dude’ to abide at local ‘Lebowski’ screening

Fans of the Coen brothers’ The Big Lebowski will have the chance the meet the real-life “Dude” at a special screening of the 1998 cult comedy at the Manship Theatre, to benefit the Louisiana International Film Festival. In the film, Jeff Bridges plays the lead character, Jeff Lebowski, whom everyone knows simply as “The Dude.” The Coens drew inspiration for the character from Jeff “The Dude” Dowd, who will be at the local screening to take questions and emcee an open-forum discussion about the Louisiana International Film Festival. Dowd, who was involved in the planning stages and creation of the Sundance Institute and Sundance Film Festival, will offer his input on how Louisiana can make its own film festival a success. The state’s inaugural international film festival is scheduled for April 2013. The showing will take place on Saturday, March 3, at 7 p.m. Pre-show drinks and Nintendo Wii bowling start at 5:30 p.m. A movie character–themed party will follow the screening, at 9:30 p.m. Tickets, which range from $10 to $60, can be purchased here or by calling 344-0334.