Caddyshack Fest Coming From Lebowski Fest Founder Next Summer, With Golfing Instead of Bowling
16 years after its inception, Lebowski Fest is still going strong — so strong, in fact, that one of its founders is launching a new endeavor: Caddyshack Fest. Will Russell tells Entertainment Weekly in a new interview that his tribute to the cult classic starring Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray, and Chevy Chase, will tee off next summer at a to-be-named golf course in Louisville, Kentucky.
“Bowling really ties Lebowski Fest together,” Russell told EW when announcing this new endeavor. “It’s great to have an activity. I was like, ‘What’s another movie that has an activity? ‘Caddyshack!’ It’s a f—ing great movie. It’s hilarious. It’s so quotable, just like ‘Lebowski.’ I’m hanging out with my friend Matt Davis, and he’s always quoting ‘Lebowski’ and ‘Caddyshack,’ and I was like, ‘Dude, you want to do this Caddyshack Fest with me?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, man! Let’s do it!’”
“We drove out to this golf course in Louisville, and this place is perfect,” he added. “We’re going to have golf cart races and costume contests and a dance party. It’s going to be just a blast. We published the Facebook page today about 3 p.m., and last I looked it had about 200 followers already, so I think it’s going to be a huge hit. A portion of the proceeds will go to benefit [the mental health non-profit] Everything Will Be OK Project.”
Like “The Big Lebowski,” “Caddyshack” wasn’t as a huge a success upon its initial release but evolved into a cult hit. Directed by Harold Ramis (in his directorial debut) and released in the summer of 1980, it made just under $40 million at the box office against a $6 million budget.
No date for Caddyshack Fest has been announced yet.
