Script To Screen: “The Big Lebowski”

The scene that kick-starts the entire plot from the 1998 movie The Big Lebowski, written by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen.

Setup: “Dude” Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire Lebowski, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.

Here’s an early scene which initiates the entire meandering plot:

INSIDEThe Dude enters and flicks on a light.His head is grabbed from behind and tucked into an armpit.
We track with him as he is rushed through the living room,
his arm holding the satchel flailing away from his body.
Going into the bedroom the outflung satchel catches a piece
of doorframe and wallboard and rips through it, leaving a
hole.The Dude is propelled across the bedroom and on into a small
bathroom, the satchel once again taking away a piece of
doorframe. His head is plunged into the toilet. The paper
bag hugged to his chest explodes milk as it hits the toilet
rim and the satchel pulverizes tile as it crashes to the
floor.The Dude blows bubbles. VOICE
We want that money, Lebowski. Bunny
said you were good for it.Hands haul the Dude out of the toilet. The Dude blubbers and
gasps for air. VOICE
Where's the money, Lebowski!His head is plunged back into the toilet. VOICE
Where's the money, Lebowski!The hands haul him out again, dripping and gasping. VOICE
WHERE'S THE FUCKING MONEY, SHITHEAD! DUDE
It's uh, it's down there somewhere.
Lemme take another look.His head is plunged back in. VOICE
Don't fuck with us. If your wife
owes money to Jackie Treehorn, that
means you owe money to Jackie
Treehorn.The inquisitor hauls the Dude's head out one last time and
flops him over so that he sits on the floor, back against
the toilet.The Dude gropes back in the toilet with one hand.Looming over him is a strapping blond man.Beyond in the living room a young Chinese man unzips his fly
and walks over to a rug. CHINESE MAN
Ever thus to deadbeats, Lebowski.He starts peeing on the rug.The Dude's hand comes out of the toilet bowl with his
sunglasses. DUDE
Oh, man. Don't do-- BLOND MAN
You see what happens? You see what
happens, Lebowski?The Dude puts on his dripping sunglasses. DUDE
Look, nobody calls me Lebowski. You
got the wrong guy. I'm the Dude,
man. BLOND MAN
Your name is Lebowski. Your wife is
Bunny. DUDE
Bunny? Look, moron.He holds up his hands. DUDE
You see a wedding ring? Does this
place look like I'm fucking married?
All my plants are dead!The blond man stoops to unzip the satchel. He pulls out a
bowling ball and examines it in the manner of a superstitious
native. BLOND MAN
The fuck is this?The Dude pats at his pockets, takes out a joint and lights
it. DUDE
Obviously you're not a golfer.The blond man drops the ball which pulverizes more tile. BLOND MAN
Woo?The Chinese man is zipping his fly. WOO
Yeah? BLOND MAN
Wasn't this guy supposed to be a
millionaire? WOO
Uh?They both look around. WOO
Fuck. BLOND MAN
What do you think? WOO
He looks like a fuckin' loser.The Dude pulls his sunglasses down his nose with one finger
and peeks over them. DUDE
Hey. At least I'm housebroken.The two men look at each other. They turn to leave. WOO
Fuckin' waste of time.The blond man turns testily at the door. BLOND MAN
Thanks a lot, asshole.

The scene from the movie:

For those of you familiar with the Coen brothers’ work, this is yet another example where the movie mirrors almost exactly the scripted version. The guys know what they want before production, then go out and get it.

One of the single best things you can do to learn the craft of screenwriting is to read the script while watching the movie. After all a screenplay is a blueprint to make a movie and it’s that magic of what happens between printed page and final print that can inform how you approach writing scenes. That is the purpose of Script to Screen, a series on GITS where we analyze a memorable movie scene and the script pages that inspired it.

For more articles in the Script To Screen series, go here.