The Dude's a Riot on Red Square

This one goes in the "What the...!?" file.

A Russian ad agency's showing of a clip of "The Big Lebowski" has been fingered by a Russian court as the catalyst for a hooligan soccer melee, and upheld on appeal. Full story here.

A Russian court has upheld a $10,000 fine imposed on an advertising agency for showing a clip from the U.S. film comedy "The Big Lebowski" that the government says contributed to a rampage by soccer thugs in Moscow. One person was killed when beer-fuelled hooligans fought, burned cars and smashed shop windows last summer after a giant screen in central Moscow showed Japan defeating Russia in a World Cup match. But the Russian government said the violence was spurred by the showing of a clip from "The Big Lebowski" on the same screen after the match, which showed a man smashing a car with a baseball bat."