So the big news swirling around Sundance today was of course that Jeff Dowd, a producer on the film Dirt! and the basis of Jeff Bridges’ character in The Big Lebowski, got punched in the face by Variety critic John Anderson after a disagreement and extended argument/conversation/monologue about the documentary. (Anne Thompson rounds up the situation nicely here, including interviews with the principals.) Not there, so I’ll spare my thoughts. But Dowd’s remarks on the incident, passed along by Dirt! publicist Mickey Cottrell, are as follows:

“My disagreement with John was not over his critical reaction, which he has every right to, but his statement that the film wouldn’t appeal to the public. I suggested he come back into the theater for the Q&A, and he would observe what we had seen at all for [sic] screenings — that audiences felt the film had all kinds of new information and practical solutions. It wasn’t homework, but hope made pragmatic on how we can change the planet in keeping with Obama’s Inauguration speech. I told John one of scores of examples of this was when John Densmore of The Doors stood up at our first screening (after a sustained audience applause at the end) and said, ‘I have my own film here — which I clearly care about — but here is my ballot which I marked 4 stars because Dirt! is the film that should win the Sundance Festival.’ That was emblematic of all the great feedback. I just asked John Anderson to put that in the mix before making assumptions that audiences would respond negatively. It should also be said that a vast majority of audience members liked the film not just because they ‘support the cause.’ We have heard dozens of comments about the quality of the filmmaking as well. In the spirit of John Waters, we even had smell-o-vision at one screening where you could smell the sweet earthy scent of dirt and mother Earth.”