Pretty good movie.
Burt Reynolds hated the idea of doing a movie promoting the porn industry, and turned the Jack Horner role in "Boogie Nights" (1997) down seven times. He also felt like he was selling out, and letting his old fans down. After angrily telling writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson the last time offered he wasn't interested, and to leave him alone, Anderson told him if he could carry that attitude with him to the role, he would be nominated for an Oscar. He subsequently chose to do the film after his agent pushed him to because he hasn't had a decent offer in a long time.
After seeing a rough cut of the film, Reynolds regretted making it. He fired his agent for recommending the role to him, and did not participate in promotional interviews. Reynolds ended up winning a Golden Globe for the role, and being nominated for an Academy Award for his performance. Despite being a front runner for the latter, it was widely rumored that he did not win because he had distanced himself from the movie earlier.
Reynolds said in a Maxim magazine interview that he researched his role by visiting porn sets and talking with real porn actors. He said the experience made him want to wear rubber gloves and take a shower afterward, and all the porn actors asked him how to get a Screen Actors Guild card.
At one point in the production, an angry Reynolds threw a punch at Anderson, because he felt that the director was disrespecting him. The film's first assistant director, John Wildermuth, tells this story: "Burt got so frustrated he pulled Paul outside into the backyard and started yelling at him, like a father, you know? 'You f**kin' little punk kid, don't tell me what to do.'" Tom Lenk added, "All of a sudden we saw fists flying. We saw some fists flying from Burt Reynolds. I hope I don't get in trouble for saying this, but it was like he was trying to punch our director in the face." Reynolds was also involved in a heated scuffle with actor Thomas Jane.
Despite all this, Anderson still planned to hire Reynolds for "Magnolia" (1999), but Reynolds became angry with Anderson during the "Boogie Nights" promotional tour, and turned the role down. (IMDb)
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