Ever wondered why everyone keeps telling Steve Buscemis Donnie to shut the f*ck up during The Big Lebowski? Within the film itself it comes across as matey banter that verges on bullying and abuse. In real life, though, the Coen Brothers had another inspiration for this recurring gag. It turns out that its a reference to their previous film, Fargo, which was released two years prior to The Big Lebowski and also featured Steve Buscemi. Because Buscemis Fargo character a small time crook called Carl - was such a loud mouth, the Coens decided to shut Buscemi up during their next collaboration. You could read this as an attempt to differentiate between the two characters, then. If that was the intention, it certainly worked. The Big Lebowskis put-upon side character Donnie is endearingly pathetic and demands our sympathy, while Carl from Fargo is the exact opposite. Also, those shut up moments are always funny.
