Synopsis

In 1977 Los Angeles, nightclub dishwasher Eddie Adams is discovered by adult-film producer Jack Horner and reinvented as Dirk Diggler. He joins a makeshift family of filmmakers and performers, enjoying fame, money, and excess during the industry's golden age. As the 1980s bring cocaine, personal collapse, and the shift from film to video, Dirk must confront the consequences of his ambition.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film expanded Paul Thomas Anderson's 1988 short film The Dirk Diggler Story, which he made as a teenager and edited with two VCRs.

• The original cut was submitted to the MPAA as NC-17. To secure an R rating, the filmmakers trimmed sexual material, but no story scenes were removed. The final release runs 155 minutes.

• Burt Reynolds reportedly turned down the role of Jack Horner seven times. After seeing a rough cut, he regretted making the film and fired his agent for recommending it. His performance nevertheless earned him a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination.

• The film received three Academy Award nominations: supporting actor, supporting actress, and original screenplay.

• Its $15 million production budget returned approximately $43.1 million worldwide, making the film a commercial success as well as a critical breakthrough.

• The extended opening tracking shot introduces the nightclub and much of the central ensemble in one fluid movement, establishing the film's deliberately showy, music-driven style.

• The story's transition from theatrical film production to videotape mirrors the real technological and economic changes that reshaped the adult-film business in the late 1970s and early 1980s.