ABIDE

On March 6, 1998, a year after winning the Oscar for their snowbound noir gem, Fargo, Joel and Ethan Coen unleashed The Big Lebowski upon unsuspecting filmgoers. The critical accolades, public affection and bulging box office that graced Fargo were replaced by befuddled reviewers, head-scratching audiences and empty movie houses. After barely making back its $15 million cost, this colorful curiosity was pulled from theaters and quickly dismissed as a case of "the Oscar curse," hardly worth a trivia question. Eleven years later, The Big Lebowski is regarded as not only the Coen Brothers' finest work but has, since 2002, joined the ranks of Star Trek as the source of conventions filled with costumed, saucer-eyed devotees. For the first time, the state in which the creators were born and raised will be host to a "Lebowski Fest." Not that the publicity-averse Joel and Ethan are likely to put in an appearance at either First Avenue, where the festival's Mov...