Contents

The Life Of A Dreamer, The Days Of Business, The Nights Inbetween

1997




Boogie Nights (1997)  

Directed by 
Paul Thomas Anderson    
  
Writing credits 
Paul Thomas Anderson    
  
Cast (in credits order) complete, awaiting verification  
Mark Wahlberg ....  Eddie Adams/Dirk Diggler  
Burt Reynolds ....  Jack Horner  
Julianne Moore ....  Amber Waves  
Luis Guzmán ....  Maurice T. Rodriguez  
Philip Baker Hall ....  Floyd Gondolli  
Don Cheadle ....  Buck Swope  
Philip Seymour Hoffman ....  Scotty  
Heather Graham ....  Rollergirl  
William H. Macy ....  Little Bill  
Thomas Jane ....  Todd Parker  
Ricky Jay ....  Kurt Longjohn  
John C. Reilly ....  Reed Rothchild  
Robert Ridgely ....  The Colonel  
Alfred Molina ....  Rahad Jackson  
Nicole Parker (II) ....  Becky Barnett  
Melora Walters ....  Jessie St. Vincent  
Nina Hartley ....  Little Bill's wife  
Michael Jace ....  Jerome  
Jack Wallace (I) ....  Rocky  
John Doe ....  Amber Waves' ex-husband  
Joanna Gleason ....  Dirk's Mother  
Laurel Holloman ....  Sheryl Lynn  
Jonathan Quint ....  Johnny Doe  
Stanley DeSantis ....  Buck's Manager  
Rico Bueno ....  Hot Traxx Waiter  
Samson Barkhordarian ....  Hot Traxx Chef  
Brad Braeden ....  Big Stud  
Lawrence Hudd ....  Dirk's Father  
Michael Stein ....  Stereo Customer  
Patricia Forte ....  Teacher  
Kai Lennox ....  High School/College Kid  
Jason Andrews ....  Johnny, Limo Driver  
Amber Hunter ....  Colonel's Lady Friend  
Greg Lauren ....  Young Stud  
Tom Dorfmeister ....  Watcher  
Jake Cross ....  Watcher  
Selwyn Emerson Miller ....  Hot Traxx DJ  
Jamielyn Gamboa ....  Colonel's Girlfriend  
Melissa Spell ....  Becky's Girlfriend  
Raymond Laboriel ....  Becky's Girlfriend's Friend  
Jon Brion ....  Awards Ceremony Band Member  
Brian Kehew ....  Awards Ceremony Band Member  
Robin Sharp ....  Awards Ceremony Band Member  
Audrey Wiechman ....  Awards Ceremony Band Member  
Tim 'Stuffy' Soronen ....  Raphael  
Thomas Lenk ....  Uncle Floyd's Kid #1  
Alexander D. Slanger ....  Uncle Floyd's Kid #2  
Lexi Leigh ....  Uncle Floyd's Girl #1  
Laura Gronewald ....  Uncle Floyd's Girl #2  
Vernon Guichard II ....  Mugsy Jack's Bartender  
Tony Tedeschi ....  New Year's Eve Stud  
Leslie Redden ....  KC Sunshine  
Gregory T. Daniel ....  Minister  
Michael Penn ....  Nick the Engineer  
Don Amendolia ....  Bank Worker  
Skye Blue ....  Jacuzzi Girl #1  
Summer Cummings ....  Jacuzzi Girl #2  
Robert Downey Sr. ....  Record producer  
Veronica Hart ....  Family Court Judge  
Jack Riley (II) ....  Amber Waves' ex-husband's lawyer  
Channon Roe ....  Surfer  
Mike Gunther ....  Surfer Punks  
Michael Raye Smith ....  Surfer Punks  
Michael S. Stencil ....  Surfer Punks  
Dustin Courtney ....  Donut Boy  
Allan Graf ....  Man with Gun  
Jose Chaidez ....  Puerto Rican Kid  
B. Philly Johnson ....  Rahad's Bodyguard  
Joe C.M. Chan ....  Cosmo, Rahad's Boy  
Goliath ....  Tyrone  
Israel Juarbe ....  Maurice's Brother  
Gregory Anthony Rae ....  Maurice's Brother  
Eric Winzenried ....  Doctor  
Sharon Ferrol ....  Hot Traxx Dancer  
Anne Fletcher ....  Hot Traxx Dancer  
Scott Fowler ....  Hot Traxx Dancer  
Melanie A. Gage ....  Hot Traxx Dancer  
Eddie Garcia (I) ....  Hot Traxx Dancer  
Sebastian Lacause ....  Hot Traxx Dancer  
Lance MacDonald ....  Hot Traxx Dancer  
Diane Mizota ....  Hot Traxx Dancer  
Nathan Frederic Prevost ....  Hot Traxx Dancer  
Lisa Ratzin ....  Hot Traxx Dancer  
Dee Dee Weathers ....  Hot Traxx Dancer  
Darrel W. Wright ....  Hot Traxx Dancer  
  
Produced by 
Paul Thomas Anderson    
Michael De Luca   (co-executive)  
Lawrence Gordon (I)   (executive)  
Lynn Harris   (co-executive)  
Lloyd Levin    
Daniel Lupi   (co-producer)  
John S. Lyons    
Joanne Sellar    
  
Original music by 
Michael Penn    
  
Cinematography by 
Robert Elswit    
  
Film Editing by 
Dylan Tichenor    
  
Casting 
Christine Sheaks    
  
Production Design by 
Bob Ziembicki    
  
Art Direction 
Ted Berner    
  
Set Decoration 
Sandy Struth    
  
Costume Design by 
Mark Bridges    
  
Make-up Department 
Nancy Beer ....  make-up artist  
Suzanne Diaz ....  make-up artist  
Brian McManus ....  make-up artist  
Emjay Olson ....  make-up artist  
Lynn Rogers ....  make-up artist  
Jennifer Turchi ....  make-up artist  
Barbara Wilder (I) ....  hair stylist  
  
Production Management 
Daniel Lupi ....  production manager
unit production manager  
  
Assistant Director 
Adam Druxman ....  second assistant director  
John Wildermuth Jr. ....  assistant director  
  
Sound Department 
Dane A. Davis ....  supervising sound editor  
Stephen Halbert ....  sound  
Jeremy Molod ....  foley recordist  
Barbara S. Way ....  assistant sound editor  
  
Stunts 
Cliff Cudney ....  stunt co-ordinator  
  
Other crew 
Nick Arnds ....  grip  
Richard Bellos ....  stand-in: Burt Reynolds  
Jim Borgardt ....  supervising adr editor  
Kenny Davis (IV) ....  dolly grip  
Joseph Dianda ....  key grip  
Tyrone D. Dixon ....  head of security  
Shawn Ensign ....  grip  
Barbara Harris (II) ....  voice casting  
Patrick Jager ....  clearance  
Ron Jeremy ....  consultant  
Brian King (II) ....  title designer  
Rich King (I) ....  extras casting  
Craig Markey ....  production supervisor  
Lucas Meyers ....  assistant to executive producer  
Sean Hunter Moe ....  camera loader  
Bethany Orlemann ....  apprentice editor  
Scott Patten ....  best boy grip  
Michael Phillips (IV) ....  production assistant  
Karyn Rachtman ....  music supervisor  
Fred Raskin ....  second assistant editor  
Michael G. Riba ....  first assistant camera  
Adam Shankman ....  choreographer  
Peter Shultz ....  rigging electrician  
Joel Sinderman ....  location scout  
Joan Sobel ....  first assistant editor  
Casey Stone ....  music scoring mixer  
John Stradling ....  second assistant camera  
Jayne-Ann Tenggren ....  script supervisor  
Boyd H. Wilson ....  location manager  
  
 

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                              BOOGIE NIGHTS
                     A film review by Steve Rhodes
                      Copyright 1997 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****):  ** 1/2

The revered director Robert Altman's films are populated with a dizzying cornucopia of characters that assault your emotions. Although there are Altman aficionados who dote on his every movie, most people are impressed by some but bored by others. For every brilliant SHORT CUTS, there is a confusing KANSAS CITY.

Young director Paul Thomas Anderson's much talked about film BOOGIE NIGHTS can be viewed as a homage to Altman's style. Set in the San Fernando Valley in 1977-1983, the movie chronicles the life of porn film director Jack Horner, played in his best performance in dozens of years by Burt Reynolds. Although Jack is the story's glue, most of the picture focuses on Jack's stars and backers and on the whole porn industry scene of sex, drugs, and violence.

"Before you turn around, you've spent maybe 20, 25, 30 thousand dollars on a movie," complains Jack to his "17-year-old piece of gold," Eddie Adams. Eddie, who later picks a new name of Dirk Diggler, is played with charismatic intensity by Mark Wahlberg. Although Jack has visions of making a classy porn film where people will actually stay until the end, he knows his bread and butter is titillation. Eddie, who tells himself that "everyone is blessed with one special thing," has just the right sized equipment to make it big in the "adult film industry."

The storyline uses the descent into hell structure. Starting on an upbeat note, the players are all one happy family even if their ritual proclivities are certainly what most people would view as deviant. FARGO Academy Award nominee William H. Macy plays Jack's assistant director, Little Bill. Little Bill has to have a pretty thick skin since his wife, played by real-life porn star Nina Hartley, has sex with other men in every place imaginable, including the driveway, while others watch. Macy is terrific as the hopelessly trapped wimp of a husband.

Although one young waif ODs early on, the drug taking accelerates as the story advances. And as the characters begin to hit bottom, they turn with increasing frequency to violence. (Although different people will have different levels of sensitivity, I found the most shocking aspect of the film to be the amount of drug usage. There is more cocaine snorting in this one movie that I've seen in the last 500 combined.)

Undoubtedly the praise for the movie, which many have already put it in the best picture of the year category, comes from the depth of the characters and the exemplary quality of the acting. Julianne Moore plays Jack's live-in companion and porn actress Amber Waves. Amber approaches her fellow actors with maternal instincts even when having sex with them on camera. My favorite minor character is Floyd Gondolli (Philip Baker Hall), who, like the man in THE GRADUATE, has a one word piece of advice to Jack about the future. This time it's "videotape" rather than "plastics."

The picture has everything in it, right down to a dance routine straight out of SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, and that is the problem. According to published reports, Anderson had only two constraints. His contract with the studio obligated him to get an R rating rather than the dreaded NC-17 and to bring in the picture within a two-and-a-half hour running time. Although he did both, the pictures suffers greatly from being too long. With fewer characters, tighter editing, and a more focused story, it would have been much more palatable and enjoyable. At the theater I was in, the audience all looked exhausted when they left.

After a devastating ending, there is a upbeat and cutesy epilogue as if to say that we should not have taken the show or its characters too seriously. The movie BOOGIE NIGHTS suffers from too much promise but not enough control. Anderson seems to load the film up with every idea he's ever had. BOOGIE NIGHTS is considerably better than his last film, HARD EIGHT, and I hope in his next one he uses better judgment when it comes to pruning.

BOOGIE NIGHTS runs 2:32. It is rated R for sex, nudity, violence, profanity, and massive amounts of hard drug usage. The movie is not appropriate for teenagers.


Have I Seen This Movie: Yes
And What Did I Think?: Boogie Nights is a great story about the porn industry in the 70's and the change from innocence to corruptness in the 80's. There are several stories in this picture told in a way like the movie "Short Cuts". There are lots of great characters here like Dirk Diggler played smartly by Mark Wahlberg. Burt Reynolds has his best role in a long time as porn producer Jack Horner. There are also lots of other great supporting actors like Heather Graham as Rollergirl, Julianne Moore as Amber Waves, & William H. Macy as Little Bill. This movie is chock full of sex, violence and drugs, so if you are easily offended, I'd suggest you avoid it. But if you aren't, then you'll have a great time watching this movie and the characters. Oh, and by the way.... The final scene looked as fake as anything! Still good fun though.
I give Boogie Nights 4 out of 5 stars

Review written July 7, 1999

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