Claim: Paul Thomas Anderson worked with an actor.

Boogie Nights is a 1997 American drama film written , produced and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson . It is set in Los Angeles ' 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 to his fall during the excesses of the 1980s . The film is an expansion of Anderson 's mockumentary short film The Dirk Diggler Story -LRB- 1988 -RRB- . It stars Mark Wahlberg , Julianne Moore , Burt Reynolds , Don Cheadle , John C. Reilly , William H. Macy and Heather Graham .   The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11 , 1997 and was released on October 10 , 1997 , and garnered critical acclaim . It was also 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 .