Boogie Nights is a 1997 American drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Set in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, the script focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher, Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg), who becomes a popular star of pornographic films, chronicling his rise in the Golden Age of Porn of the 1970s through his fall during the excesses of the 1980s. The film also features cameos by porn actresses Nina Hartley (as Little Bill's promiscuous wife) and Veronica Hart (as the custody hearing judge for Amber Waves' court case). The film was an expansion of Anderson's short film The Dirk Diggler Story(1988). (Wikipedia)
At first glance, this movie might seem like a mini-porn film but it is actually a great film by Paul Thomas Anderson (PTA) incorporating numerous themes all intertwined in one that won numerous awards for PTA as well as many of the stars most notably Burt Reynolds and Julianne Moore. PTA does a great job of using long continuous un-cut scenes to capture the audience's attention and create dramatic and riveting scenes.
Surprisingly or not, PTA is from the SFV who was raised in Studio City and now calls Tarzana home. In each of his films (see Magnolia filming locations here), he attempts to use the SFV for his filming locations when possible which makes him a "keeping it real" type of guy if that sentence makes sense. Its probably no coincidence that his first major film was about porn in the 70's and 80's which was based in the SFV. This movie looks truly authentic capturing the style and culture of the 70's and 80's SFV and mentions various spots of the SFV in the film like Canoga, Reseda, and CSUN. This is one of the few great movies about the SFV like Valley Girl and 2 Days In The Valley which put the SFV on the map and I deeply respect and appreciate PTA's work for recognizing the SFV.
The locations of this film have already been found at other wonderful websites and this post wouldnt be possible without their excellent research so please check them out which also include non-SFV locations.
- Movie Locations and More
- The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations
- Filming Locations of Chicago and Los Angeles
- IMDB
- Fan map page
While a majority of this film was shot in the SFV, I was disappointed to learn that Jack Horner's house played by Burt Reynolds was filmed in Covina and Dirk Diggler's childhood home played by Mark Whalberg was filmed in Torrance which I imagine were both chosen because it was difficult to find what these homes offered in the SFV.
You can view more SFV filming locations here.
You can view more SFV filming locations here.
The Reseda Cinema is located at 18447 Sherman Way Reseda 91335. This theatre has unfortunately been closed for a long time with no major current plans.
The Hot Traxx Disco is located at 18419 Sherman Way Reseda 91335 which is Iglesia Cristiana Nuevo Empezar today and was previously the Reseda Country Club that was a popular venue for numerous Rock N Roll legends like Nirvana, Metallica, and Tom Petty to name a few.
The stereo store where Buck Swopes works at in the beginning of the film and then later starts his own Bucks Super Cool Stereo Store is located at 9043 Woodman Avenue Arleta 91331. This location was actually filmed in the back parking lot and not in the front facing Woodman which appears to have been heavily modified just for filming.
Dupar's Restaurant is located at 12036 Ventura Blvd Studio City 91604 which has also been used for Valley Girl (is this a surprise?)
The Pussycat Theatre which I dont know where this was located in the film but I remember there used to be one on Sherman Way and Owensmouth in Canoga Park. Not sure if this is the one from Canoga Park or maybe another theatre like in Hollywood.
Dirk's new house is located 4214 Lobos Road Woodland Hills 91364. This house is located south of Ventura Blvd and seems fitting for a newly minted porn star.
The documentary film about Dirk Diggler where he is standing on the bridge and LA River is located at 4030 Colfax Avenue near Ventura Blvd in Studio City. The LA River is widely used in films including Terminator 2, Drive, and Innerspace to name a few.
The scene where Dirk Diggler is recording music in the studio mentions Sound City Recording Studios. I am not sure if this was filmed in a studio or the actual Sound City Studios in Van Nuys. If this were real, then that would be an amazing tribute to the Sound City Studios which was recently made famous by Dave Grohl for the recent documentary he created. Considering this film was made in the mid-90's, there were probably very few people who knew about this studio except for those in the industry.
Jack Horner's porn warehouse is an actual porn company warehouse called Gourmet Video in Van Nuys but I was not able to find the address location.
The amazing scene where Dirk Diggler gets beat up is at St. Catherine's of Siena Church at 18115 Sherman Way Reseda 91335. And not too far where Buck Swope buys a dozen donuts and later turns into a murder scene with Buck walking away with a bag of cash is located at 18231 Sherman Way Reseda 91335. This is one of the best scenes in the movie.
Dirk Diggler and gang plan the drug deal at the motel which is El Royale Motel at 11117 Ventura Blvd Studio City 91604.
The Drug Dealer's house is located at 16801 Encino Hills Drive Encino 91436.
After the Drug Dealer confrontation, Dirk's is pushed down the street which appears to be somewhere in the SFV but not exactly sure. It looks like the tall stacks in the background might be the Sun Valley Power Plant but cant confirm.
And the filming trailers:
