# Boogie Nights

Boogie Nights is a 1997 American drama film written, directed, and co-produced by Paul Thomas Anderson. It is set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley and focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic films, chronicling his rise in the Golden Age of Porn of the 1970s through his fall during the excesses of the 1980s. The film is an expansion of Anderson's mockumentary short film The Dirk Diggler Story (1988), and stars Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds, Don Cheadle, John C. Reilly, William H. Macy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Heather Graham.
Boogie Nights premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 1997, and was theatrically released by New Line Cinema on October 10, 1997, garnering critical acclaim. It was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Original Screenplay for Anderson, Best Supporting Actress for Moore, and Best Supporting Actor for Reynolds. The film's soundtrack also received acclaim. It has since been considered one of Anderson's best works and one of the best films of all time.

## Plot

In 1977, high-school dropout Eddie Adams is living with his father and emotionally and physically abusive mother in Torrance, California. He works at a Reseda nightclub owned by Maurice Rodriguez, where he meets porn filmmaker Jack Horner. Interested in bringing Eddie into porn, Jack auditions the latter by watching him have sex with Rollergirl, a porn starlet who always wears roller skates.
After a fight with his mother, Eddie moves in with Jack at his San Fernando Valley home. He gives himself the screen name "Dirk Diggler" and becomes a star because of his good looks, youthful charisma, and abnormally large penis. His success allows him to buy a new house, an extensive wardrobe, and a "competition orange" 1977 Chevrolet Corvette. With his friend and co-star Reed Rothchild, Dirk pitches a series of successful action-themed porn films. He works and socializes with others from the porn industry, and they live carefree lifestyles in the late 1970s disco era. While attending a New Year's Eve party at Horner's house on December 31, 1979, assistant director Little Bill Thompson discovers his adulterous wife having sex with another man. Bill, tired of being repeatedly cheated on, shoots the pair dead and commits suicide.
Dirk and Reed begin using cocaine on a regular basis. Due to his drug use, Dirk finds it increasingly difficult to achieve an erection, falls into violent mood swings, and becomes irritated with Johnny Doe, a rival leading man Jack has recently recruited, and whom Dirk worries will replace him. In 1983, after arguing with Jack, Dirk is fired and takes off with Reed to start a music career along with Scotty, a boom operator who is in love with Dirk. Jack rejects business overtures from Floyd Gondolli, a local theater magnate who insists on cutting costs by shooting on videotape rather than film stock, because Jack believes that video will diminish the quality of his films.
After his friend and financier, Colonel James, is incarcerated for possession of child pornography, Jack cooperates with Gondolli but becomes disillusioned with the work he is expected to churn out. One of these projects involves Jack and Rollergirl riding in a limousine, searching for random men for her to have sex with while being taped by a crew. One man recognizes Rollergirl as a former high-school classmate, and after a failed attempt at intercourse, he insults her and Jack. Both Jack and Rollergirl attack the man, leaving him bloodied on the sidewalk.
Leading lady Amber Waves lands in a custody battle with her ex-husband. The court determines that she is an unfit mother due to her involvement in the porn industry, criminal record, and cocaine addiction. Buck Swope marries fellow porn star Jessie St. Vincent, who becomes pregnant. Because of his past as a pornographer, Buck is disqualified from a bank loan and cannot open his own stereo equipment store. That night, he finds himself in the middle of a holdup at a donut shop in which the clerk, the robber, and an armed customer are killed. Buck is the sole survivor and escapes with the money.
Having spent most of their money on drugs, Dirk and Reed are unable to pay a recording studio for demo tapes they believe will enable them to become music stars. Desperate for money, Dirk resorts to prostitution but is assaulted and robbed by three men. Dirk, Reed, and their friend Todd Parker attempt to scam local drug dealer Rahad Jackson at his estate by selling him a half-kilo of baking soda disguised as cocaine. Dirk and Reed intend to leave quickly before Rahad's bodyguard inspects it, but a drugged-up and armed Todd attempts to steal more money, as well as some more drugs, from Rahad. In the ensuing gunfight, Todd kills Rahad's bodyguard and is killed by Rahad, while Dirk and Reed narrowly escape. Dirk returns to Jack's home and they reconcile.
In 1984, Amber shoots the television commercial for the opening of Buck's store, Rollergirl takes a GED class, Maurice opens a nightclub with his brothers, Reed performs magic acts at a strip club, and Jessie gives birth to her and Buck's son. Dirk, Jack, and Amber prepare to start filming again.

## Cast

* Mark Wahlberg as Eddie Adams / Dirk Diggler
* Julianne Moore as Maggie / Amber Waves
* Burt Reynolds as Jack Horner
* Don Cheadle as Buck Swope
* John C. Reilly as Reed Rothchild
* William H. Macy as Little Bill
* Heather Graham as Brandy / Rollergirl
* Nicole Ari Parker as Becky Barnett
* Philip Seymour Hoffman as Scotty J.
* Luis Guzmán as Maurice Rodriguez / T. T. Rodriguez
* Philip Baker Hall as Floyd Gondolli
* Thomas Jane as Todd Parker
* Robert Ridgely as The Colonel James
* Robert Downey Sr. as Burt
* Nina Hartley as Little Bill's Wife
* Melora Walters as Jessie St. Vincent
* Alfred Molina as Rahad Jackson
* Ricky Jay as Kurt Longjohn
* Joanna Gleason as Dirk's mother
* Laurel Holloman as Sheryl Lynn
* Michael Jace as Jerome
* Michael Penn as Nick

## Production
### Development

Boogie Nights is based on a mockumentary short film that Paul Thomas Anderson wrote and directed while he was still in high school called The Dirk Diggler Story. The short itself was based on the 1981 documentary Exhausted: John C. Holmes, The Real Story, a documentary about the life of legendary porn actor John Holmes, on whom Dirk Diggler is based.
Anderson originally wanted the role of Eddie to be played by Leonardo DiCaprio, after seeing him in The Basketball Diaries. DiCaprio enjoyed the screenplay, but had to turn it down because he had signed on to star in James Cameron's Titanic. He recommended his Basketball Diaries co-star Mark Wahlberg for the role. DiCaprio would later say that he wished he had done both. Joaquin Phoenix was also offered the role of Eddie, but he declined it due to concerns about playing a porn star. Phoenix later collaborated with Anderson on the films The Master and Inherent Vice. Bill Murray, Harvey Keitel, Warren Beatty, Albert Brooks and Sydney Pollack declined or were passed up on the role of Jack Horner, which went to Burt Reynolds. After starring in Hard Eight, Samuel L. Jackson declined the role of Buck Swope, which went to Don Cheadle. Anderson initially did not consider Heather Graham for Rollergirl, because he had never seen her do nudity in a film. However, Graham's agent called Anderson asking if she could read for the part, which she won. Gwyneth Paltrow, Drew Barrymore and Tatum O'Neal were also up for the role.
After having a very difficult time getting his previous film, Hard Eight, released, Anderson laid down a hard law when making Boogie Nights. He initially wanted the film to be over three hours long and be rated NC-17. The film's producers, particularly Michael De Luca, said that the film had to be either under three hours or rated R. Anderson fought with them, saying that the film would not have a mainstream appeal no matter what. They did not change their minds, and Anderson chose the R rating as a challenge. Despite this, the film was still 25 minutes shorter than promised.
Reynolds did not get along with Anderson while filming. After seeing a rough cut of the film, Reynolds allegedly fired his agent for recommending it. Despite this, Reynolds won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance. Later, Anderson wanted Reynolds to star in his next film Magnolia, but Reynolds declined it. In 2012, Reynolds denied rumors that he disliked the film, calling it "extraordinary" and saying that his opinion of it has nothing to do with his relationship with Anderson. According to Wahlberg, Reynolds wanted his character Jack Horner to have an Irish accent, which he used for the character on his first day of shooting, before dropping it on the next day.
According to Thomas Jane, who played Todd Parker in the film, the character Cosmo throwing firecrackers throughout the drug deal scene was not originally in the script, but was written for Anderson's friend Joe G. M. Chan, whom Anderson had seen randomly throwing firecrackers at a party before asking him to appear in the film. Jane also said that Reynolds had attempted to knee him in the crotch during filming due to Anderson keeping the camera rolling after the end of the take, with Jane taunting him as part of a prank. Reynolds sent a six pack of beer to Jane's trailer as an apology.

## Release

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival, before opening on two screens in the United States on October 10, 1997. It grossed $50,168 during its opening weekend. Three weeks later, it expanded to 907 theaters and grossed $4.7 million, ranking number four for the week. It eventually earned $26.4 million in the United States and $16.7 million in foreign markets for a worldwide box office total of $43.1 million.

## Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Boogie Nights holds an approval rating of 94% based on 77 reviews, with an average score of 8.10/10. The site's critical consensus states, "Grounded in strong characters, bold themes, and subtle storytelling, Boogie Nights is a groundbreaking film both for director P.T. Anderson and star Mark Wahlberg." On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 86 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.
Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote, "Everything about Boogie Nights is interestingly unexpected," although "the film's extravagant 2-hour 32-minute length amounts to a slight tactical mistake ... [it] has no trouble holding interest ... but the length promises larger ideas than the film finally delivers." She praised Burt Reynolds for "his best and most suavely funny performance in many years," and added, "The movie's special gift happens to be Mark Wahlberg, who gives a terrifically appealing performance."
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times observed:
   Few films have been more matter-of-fact, even disenchanted, about sexuality. Adult films are a business here, not a dalliance or a pastime, and one of the charms of Boogie Nights is the way it shows the everyday backstage humdrum life of porno filmmaking ... The sweep and variety of the characters have brought the movie comparisons to Robert Altman's Nashville and The Player. There is also some of the same appeal as Pulp Fiction in scenes that balance precariously between comedy and violence ... Through all the characters and all the action, Anderson's screenplay centers on the human qualities of the players ... Boogie Nights has the quality of many great films, in that it always seems alive.
Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle stated, "Boogie Nights is the first great film about the 1970s to come out since the '70s ... It gets all the details right, nailing down the styles and the music. More impressive, it captures the decade's distinct, decadent glamour ... [It] also succeeds at something very difficult: re-creating the ethos and mentality of an era ... Paul Thomas Anderson ... has pulled off a wonderful, sprawling, sophisticated film ... With Boogie Nights, we know we're not just watching episodes from disparate lives but a panorama of recent social history, rendered in bold, exuberant colors."
Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called it "a startling film, but not for the obvious reasons. Yes, its decision to focus on the pornography business in the San Fernando Valley in the 1970s and 1980s is nerviness itself, but more impressive is the film's sureness of touch, its ability to be empathetic, nonjudgmental and gently satirical, to understand what is going on beneath the surface of this raunchy Nashville-esque universe and to deftly relate it to our own ... Perhaps the most exciting thing about Boogie Nights is the ease with which writer-director Anderson ... spins out this complex web. A true storyteller, able to easily mix and match moods in a playful and audacious manner, he is a filmmaker definitely worth watching, both now and in the future." In Time Out New York, Andrew Johnston concluded, "The porn milieu may scare some folks off, but Boogie Nights offers laughs, tenderness, terror and redemption--everything you could ask for in a movie. It's an impressive and satisfying film, one the Academy really ought to have the balls to recognize."
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said, "[T]his chunk of movie dynamite is detonated by Mark Wahlberg ... who grabs a breakout role and runs with it ... Even when Boogie Nights flies off course as it tracks its bizarrely idealistic characters into the '80s ... you can sense the passionate commitment at the core of this hilarious and harrowing spectacle. For this, credit Paul Thomas Anderson ... who ... scores a personal triumph by finding glints of rude life in the ashes that remained after Watergate. For all the unbridled sex, what is significant, timely and, finally, hopeful about Boogie Nights is the way Anderson proves that a movie can be mercilessly honest and mercifully humane at the same time."
Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune called it "beautifully made" and praised the performances, calling Reynolds "absolutely centered and in control of his emotions" and saying Wahlberg "couldn't be better". However, he moderated his praise by saying, "The early rave reviews accorded this film suggest a significance that I, however, did not encounter. Show-biz stories are all pretty much the same: ambition, stardom, drugs, disillusionment. Add the home video revolution to this mix and curiosity about the size of the boy wonder's equipment; throw in a few topical references like the soft drink Fresca, and you have the bare bones of the story." He gave the film three and a half stars out of a possible four.
Despite the accolades Wahlberg received for his performance in Boogie Nights, he would later express regret for having made the film. "I've made some poor choices in the past", he said, and stated he wanted God to forgive him for appearing in it. Wahlberg later clarified his comments, saying he had made them because he "was sitting in front of a couple of thousand kids talking about and trying to encourage them to come back to their faith, and I was just saying that I just hope [God] has a sense of humor because I maybe made some decisions that may not be okay with Him." He also stated in an interview with Andy Cohen that his comment was "a joke taken too seriously".

### Accolades

| Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
| Academy Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Burt Reynolds | Nominated | |
| Academy Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Julianne Moore | Nominated | |
| Academy Awards | Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen | Paul Thomas Anderson | Nominated | |
| Artios Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Feature Film Casting – Comedy | Christine Sheaks | Won | |
| Boston Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Burt Reynolds | 2nd Place | |
| Boston Society of Film Critics Awards | Best New Filmmaker | Paul Thomas Anderson (also for Hard Eight) | Won | |
| British Independent Film Awards | Best Foreign Independent Film – English Language | Best Foreign Independent Film – English Language | Won | |
| British Academy Film Awards | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Burt Reynolds | Nominated | |
| British Academy Film Awards | Best Original Screenplay | Paul Thomas Anderson | Nominated | |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | Best Film | Best Film | Nominated | |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | Best Director | Paul Thomas Anderson | Nominated | |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Burt Reynolds | Won | |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Julianne Moore | Nominated | |
| Chlotrudis Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Julianne Moore | Nominated | |
| Critics' Choice Awards | Best Picture | Best Picture | Nominated | |
| Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards | Best Picture | Best Picture | Nominated | |
| Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Burt Reynolds | Won | |
| European Film Awards | Screen International Award | Paul Thomas Anderson | Nominated | |
| Florida Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Julianne Moore | Won | |
| Florida Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Cast | Best Cast | Won | |
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture | Burt Reynolds | Won | |
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture | Julianne Moore | Nominated | |
| Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Burt Reynolds | Won | |
| London Film Critics Circle Awards | Film of the Year | Film of the Year | Nominated | |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Burt Reynolds | Won | |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Julianne Moore | Won | |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | New Generation Award | Paul Thomas Anderson | Won | |
| MTV Movie Awards | Best Breakthrough Performance | Heather Graham | Won | |
| MTV Movie Awards | Best Dance Sequence | Mark Wahlberg – "Machine Gun" | Nominated | |
| National Board of Review Awards | Top Ten Films | Top Ten Films | 7th Place | |
| National Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Film | Best Film | 3rd Place | |
| National Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Director | Paul Thomas Anderson | 3rd Place | |
| National Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Burt Reynolds | Won | |
| National Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Julianne Moore | Won | |
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Burt Reynolds | Won | |
| Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Drama Picture | Paul Thomas Anderson, Lloyd Levin, John S. Lyons, and JoAnne Sellar | Nominated | |
| Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Director | Paul Thomas Anderson | Nominated | |
| Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Drama Actress | Julianne Moore | Nominated | |
| Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Burt Reynolds | Won | |
| Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Julianne Moore | Won | |
| Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Original Screenplay | Paul Thomas Anderson | Nominated | |
| Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Costume Design | Mark Bridges | Nominated | |
| Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Film Editing | Dylan Tichenor | Nominated | |
| Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Production Design | Bob Ziembicki and Sandy Struth | Nominated | |
| Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Ensemble | Best Ensemble | Nominated | |
| Online Film & Television Association Awards | Hall of Fame – Motion Picture | Hall of Fame – Motion Picture | Inducted | |
| Online Film Critics Society Awards | Best Director | Paul Thomas Anderson | Nominated | |
| Online Film Critics Society Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Burt Reynolds | Won | |
| Online Film Critics Society Awards | Best Screenplay | Paul Thomas Anderson | Nominated | |
| PEN America Literary Awards | Screenplay | Paul Thomas Anderson | Won | |
| San Diego Film Critics Society Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Burt Reynolds | Won | |
| Satellite Awards | Best Motion Picture – Drama | Best Motion Picture – Drama | Nominated | |
| Satellite Awards | Best Director | Paul Thomas Anderson | Nominated | |
| Satellite Awards | Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama | Mark Wahlberg | Nominated | |
| Satellite Awards | Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture – Drama | Burt Reynolds | Won | |
| Satellite Awards | Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture – Drama | Julianne Moore | Won | |
| Satellite Awards | Best Original Screenplay | Paul Thomas Anderson | Nominated | |
| Satellite Awards | Best Film Editing | Dylan Tichenor | Nominated | |
| Satellite Awards | Outstanding Motion Picture Ensemble | Outstanding Motion Picture Ensemble | Won | |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | Don Cheadle, Heather Graham, Luis Guzmán, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Thomas Jane, Ricky Jay, William H. Macy, Alfred Molina, Julianne Moore, Nicole Ari Parker, John C. Reilly, Burt Reynolds, Robert Ridgely, Mark Wahlberg, and Melora Walters | Nominated | [55] [56] |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role | Burt Reynolds | Nominated | [55] [56] |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role | Julianne Moore | Nominated | [55] [56] |
| Society of Camera Operators | Historical Shot | Andy Shuttleworth | Won | |
| Society of Texas Film Critics Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Burt Reynolds | Nominated | |
| Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards | Best Picture | Best Picture | 4th Place | |
| Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Julianne Moore | Nominated | |
| Stinkers Bad Movie Awards | Worst On-Screen Couple | Mark Wahlberg and his fake 13-inch appendage | Nominated | |
| Toronto Film Critics Association Awards | Best Director | Paul Thomas Anderson | Runner-up | |
| Toronto International Film Festival | Metro Media Award | Paul Thomas Anderson | Won | |
| Turkish Film Critics Association Awards | Best Foreign Film | Best Foreign Film | 8th Place | |
| Writers Guild of America Awards | Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen | Paul Thomas Anderson | Nominated | |

## Music

Two Boogie Nights soundtracks were released, the first at the time of the film's initial release and the second the following year. AllMusic rated the first soundtrack four and a half stars out of five and the second soundtrack four.

### Personnel

* Paul Thomas Anderson – executive producer
* Karyn Rachtman – executive producer, music supervisor
* Liz Heller – executive producer
* Bobby Lavelle – music supervisor
* Carol Dunn – music coordinator

### Songs that appear in the film but not on either soundtrack albums

* "Sunny" by Boney M.
* "Susan (The Sage)" by Chico Hamilton Quintet
* "Fly, Robin, Fly" by Silver Convention
* "Afternoon Delight" by Starland Vocal Band
* "Lonely Boy" by Andrew Gold
* "Fat Man" by Jethro Tull
* "Flying Objects" by Roger Webb
* "Queen of Hearts" by Juice Newton
* "It's Just a Matter of Time" by Brook Benton
* "Compared to What" by Roberta Flack
* "99 Luftballons" by Nena
* "Voices Carry" by 'Til Tuesday