Just a few years before his death in 2018, Burt Reynolds published his second memoir, entitled But Enough About Me. He was almost 80-years-old at the time, and spoke candidly about all of the Hollywood people he had met, worked with, and been romantically entangled with. And he pulled no punches when it came to discussing his Boogie Nights director Paul Thomas Anderson.
Anderson was just 27-years-old when Boogie Nights was released, and it put him firmly on the map as one of the most respected auteurs in Hollywood. Interestingly, both of the movie’s main stars have since expressed regret about making it. Mark Wahlberg – who is a devout Catholic – has said; “I just always hope that God is a movie fan and also forgiving, because I’ve made some poor choices in my past. Boogie Nights is up there at the top of the list.”
Burt Reynolds was also outspoken about hating Boogie Nights and had some choice words about Anderson, telling GQ in 2015; “Personality-wise, we didn’t fit. He was young and full of himself.”
Speaking at a Guardian Live event, also in 2015, Reynolds said that he “hated” Anderson and that he turned down a role in Magnolia; “I’d done my picture with Paul Thomas Anderson, that was enough for me.”
It’s unclear just exactly what Reynolds was expecting, going into Boogie Nights. A big reason why he seemed to hate it so much was that he was uncomfortable with the subject matter being the porn industry.
“I don’t like those people [porn stars], I feel like they are due for a very hard time because they tried to do legitimate film and they’re never going to be able to. It’s sad, they were very sad people,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds ended up being Oscar-nominated for the drama movie, but that clearly didn’t change his opinion on it. Check out our guide to the best Paul Thomas Anderson movies – let’s hope you like them more than Burt did!