Cinespia gathered again this past Saturday at Hollywood Forever Cemetery to present cult classic The Big Lebowski to anyone who hadn’t seen it (or simply hadn’t seen enough of it). Largely overlooked when it was initially released in 1998, this brilliant Coen brothers flick inspired more than a few attendees to don long hair, goatees, and robes.

Now into their 11^th year of cemetery screenings, Cinespia attracted enough people to send a line across Santa Monica Blvd. Inside, the lawn was packed in tight with cinephiles crouched on blankets or low slung beach chairs. I took a moment to tour the grounds and recommend locating the obelisk gravesite of Griffith J. Griffith.

On the far end of the lawn stood a green screen capturing filmgoers posing on The Dude’s flying carpet. Angelenos did not disappoint and the results are fun to flip through. A light haze of smoldering grass wafted through the air during the screening, and I don’t mean the freshly cut variety.

Cinespia offers a fine atmosphere for outdoor relaxation with a solid line up of curated film selections. This coming Saturday’s film is the Billy Wilder-directed, noir favorite Sunset Blvd and on August 18^th, a dusk til dawn all-nighter is planned, which includes Wet Hot American Summer and several other campy crowd-pleasers. Honorable mention: Jeff Dowd, the real-life inspiration for Jeff Bridges on-screen Dude was in attendance and did his best to convey his authentic dudeness on stage before the screening began (though one writer believes, like the real-life Kramer, his 15 minutes likely expired long ago).

Similar to the Hollywood Bowl, picnic baskets (G-rated, R-rated, or otherwise) are encouraged–but I strongly recommend arriving early, as this Saturday night outing is coveted by many.

Peruse the rest of Cinespia’s 2012 summer calendar.