Film on the Radio

31 Dec 2019

Boogie Nights – Transcript

CARLA: Hello and welcome, I’m Carla Donnelly and this is Film on the Radio – your weekly deep dive into the scores and soundtracks of the films you love. Thanks to This Australian Life for bringing us in with intimate stories from our LGBTIQA+ community. It’s New Year’s Eve!! So, I thought I better play some party songs to help you boogie into the night. Surprise! This week’s soundtrack is the 1997 film Boogie Nights. And a theme is starting to be woven here as soundtracks from the 90’s come out on top of my list (though it may partially be my age) and there is apparently a through line – music supervisor Karyn Rachtman. You may remember the first broadcast in this series covered Reality Bites which was another Karyn Rachtman soundtrack. If you haven’t heard it, you can now add us to your favourite podcatcher – search for Film on the Radio where you can listen to all our previous episodes.

Karyn Rachtman is known as the most influential music supervisor of all time. Her soundtracks have sold over 75 million copies worldwide. Its likely you have a favourite as she supervised (amongst many) Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Clueless, Romeo and Juliet and Moulin Rouge to name a few heavy hitters. It certainly won’t be the last time we cover her work on this show.

Depending the director and their vision, a music supervisor could be just getting clearances for music already selected or they could have a wide berth of music they can select themselves. Rachtman got to have one of her own choices on the Boogie Nights soundtrack – “Brand New Key” by Melanie.

Here’s Karyn Rachtman describing how she got the gig and the song into the film – an interview from Radio New Zealand:

“The same friend who introduced me to Quentin, Stacey Sher, introduced me to Paul Thomas Anderson, who was working on his first film Hard Eight, and needed help, so I came in and gave him support. He left me a script and said, “Can you please read this?” It was called Knuckle Sandwich [which became Punch-Drunk Love]. I said, “Wow. I just read the best script I’ve ever read.”

At the time I was dating a man who went on to become my husband (we’re divorced now), who was a producer. He ended up reading the script too (unbenkownst to me), and made a deal with Anderson to produce the film. Stacey got really mad at me. And she was right to! She said “I don’t do development for your boyfriend.” Anyway, my husband went on to produce another film of Paul’s, Boogie Nights.

What’s so amazing about Boogie Nights is that every song in it tells a story. If you listen to the lyrics, they go with the story of the movie in an odd way. Paul felt safe with me, that I was going to deliver his vision. And I think I did. I got to choose one song, and that was “Brand New Key” by Melanie, which is used in the Roller Girl scene. The lyrics are ‘I’ve got a brand new pair of rollerskates’. He’d never heard that song.” Let’s listen to “Brand New Key” by Melanie – you’re on Joy.

MUSIC: “Brand New Key” – Melanie, “Spill the Wine” – Eric Burdon, War

CARLA: You’re on Joy 94.9 and this is Film on the Radio. Those tracks were “Brand New Key” by Melanie and “Spill the Wine” by Eric Burdon and War. This week we’re getting down new years eve style with the 1997 Boogie Nights soundtrack. One that I personally had on CD back in the day. I think I actually still own it. Did you? Message us on Twitter and Facebook @filmontheradio or email us at filmontheradio@joy.org.au. I’d love to hear from you if this is your fave or any other soundtracks you love. I’m always on the hunt for new things to listen to.

The music direction for Boogie Nights was so detailed they released 2 separated soundtracks. But also, the original cut of the film was 3 hours so … I guess that’s also a lot of music to have in a film. I have to admit I didn’t love the second soundtrack as much as the first. The music in this film is quite literal, the lyrics are usually describing something similar that is happening within the scene. Ordinarily that would be pretty on the nose I think but with this it blends seamlessly to create this really immersive world. Because honestly looking back at the music of the 70’s this film reflects so much of those sentiments… sex, love, dancing, burgeoning sexuality, expanding minds… expanding everything. The music has a feeling of floating… or limitlessness. I always like to orient the show to what we’re discussing by playing the trailer so let’s have a listen – stay tuned, you’re on Joy.

CARLA: You’re on Joy and tonight we’re discussing the soundtrack to Boogie Nights. Lets listen to the trailer.

CLIP: Trailer

CARLA: I love these voices overs. They’re so cheesy. Re-watching the film last night I was struck by how much music is in the film, it’s practically non-stop. Songs fading into each other. If you haven’t seen the film this brief synopsis from Wikipedia does the trick “In the San Fernando Valley in 1977, teenage busboy Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg) gets discovered by porn director Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds), who transforms him into adult-film sensation Dirk Diggler. Brought into a supportive circle of friends, including fellow actors Amber Waves (Julianne Moore), Rollergirl (Heather Graham) and Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly), Dirk fulfills all his ambitions, but a toxic combination of drugs and egotism threatens to take him back down.”. I guess the thing this film is most famous for.. well is a lot of things. Highlighting the still potent power of Burt Reynolds, making a star out of Heather Graham, the prosthetic penis of Dirk Diggler… having real porn stars as actors in the film.

The script was getting around and no one could quite believe it was a film that was going to be made. This was the mid/late 90’s where porn was still very much frowned upon (seems quaint these days). Even to the point the porn actors on set were really shunned – here is Nina Hartley (famous pornstar of the 80’s) talking about her time on set

“Macy didn’t treat me like a leper. He treated me with respect and professionalism. And I really appreciated that, because except for the people in the makeup trailer, no one else really spoke to me. Wahlberg, on my first day of shooting, came up and said hello; he talked to me for five minutes and then walked away and that was it. And Julianne Moore came in the makeup trailer one time, looked in my direction; I couldn’t read the expression on her face and she left quickly thereafter. But none of the female performers came up to me and said, “Hi, hope you’re having a good time.”” Apparently, Nina (used to being on porn sets) would forget to wear her robe/clothes outside of shooting and it really upset everyone on the film set. American’s man – like how can you be making a film about porn and be uptight about nudity?

The reason why I think Boogie Nights is so successful is it’s a love letter like no other. Paul Thomas Anderson the director grew up in the San Fernando Valley in the 70’s and was apparently obsessed with porn. I mean it was all being shot and happening on his doorstep. The mythos would have been heavy, especially for a kid who was obsessed with making films. Paul Thomas Anderson’s dad worked as a voice over actor so he grew up in the business. But Hollywood is far removed by distance and spirit from the Valley. A place where the majority of American porn is still shot today.

PTA chose all the exterior places to shoot, most in walking distance from where he grew up. It’s the detail obsessive fever dream of a teenage boy… asserting himself as a man. As an artist. As potentially an outsider artist. His films all centre an outsider… either socially accepted or not; their behavior is aberrant and something to be atoned and worked through. The thing I love about Boogie Nights the most and perhaps this is subconscious or not… is that none of the characters have changed very much from the beginning of the film to the end. It makes me think that porn as the face of capitalism is actually the traditional main character of this film… I can see why this was such a heady cocktail (pun intended) for all involved.. creator and viewer… the late 70s feels like that last time we had hope as a human race… that we had somehow reached the pinnacle… or the last length of denial before reality came crashing through the window. In any event it spawned some amazing tunes… let’s listen to “Best of My Love” by the Emotions and “Sunny” by Boney M. You’re on Joy.

MUSIC: “Best of My Love” – The Emotions, “Sunny” – Boney M.

CARLA: You’re on Joy 94.9 and you’re listening Film on the Radio. Those tracks were “Best of My Love” by The Emotions and “Sunny” by Boney M. which has been in my head nonstop since I listened to it this week. What a catchy song. Both of these songs are on the Boogie Nights soundtrack and that is what we’re discussing tonight just in time for New Year’s Eve. In doing research for this episode I found an amazing oral history as compiled by the online journal Grantland amongst other things (which is linked in our show notes either on your podcasting app or go to our website www.joy.org.au/filmontheradio)so it’s always good to go and have a look on our website if you’re interested in the soundtrack we’re discussing. We also have transcripts there if you have deaf/hard of hearing friends or just prefer reading a transcript – which a lot of people do.

One mind blowing piece of information I came across is the song “The Touch” which is the single that Dirk Diggler tries to break into his rock career with. I always though this was made for the movie but it’s actually a real song that Mark Wahlberg covered. I wasn’t going to play the song because frankly its terrible but here’s a little clip:

CLIP: Dirk Diggler – The Touch

CARLA: And now here is the original by Stan Bush:

CLIP: Stan Bush – The Touch

CARLA: Uh yep you may have heard “Optimus Prime” in there… this is because the original of The Touch was used in Transformers. In an article from Vulture magazine:

“Last week, the Transformers Hall of Fame — which is, believe it or not, a real thing — inducted two fictional robots, but only one human: a 60-year-old Los Angeles resident named Stan Bush. When the emcee uttered that human’s name, cheers and applause erupted from the throngs of Transformers fans in the audience at the Pasadena Convention Center. Bush was brought on stage and he wore a grin of elation and surprise. “You’re the best,” he said, gesturing to the crowd. “You got the Touch!”

That capitalization is intentional, because Bush wasn’t referring to just any touch. He was talking about the Touch: a metaphorical blessing of strength that is the central topic of a song Bush wrote and recorded nearly 30 years ago, a power ballad called, simply, “The Touch.” It’s undoubtedly the greatest piece of music to come out of the Transformers franchise, and it’s had a truly bizarre pop-culture journey.

The track originally accompanied 1986’s animated, feature-length The Transformers: The Movie. In fact, it’s much more likely that you visually associate that song with the way it was used in the film (or the way it was used in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights, which we’ll get to in a minute). It provides backing music for a knock-down-drag-out between Optimus Prime and Megatron — the show’s paternalistic hero and bitter villain. It’s sublimely ridiculous and instantly memorable.

Bush’s career then encountered a bumpy few years. He released five albums that received little to no attention. “The ‘80s rock thing had fizzled out with the grunge movement,” Bush recalled with a sigh. In 1997, he had the boon of winning an Emmy for “‘Til I Was Loved by You,” a song he recorded for the TV show Guiding Light. But no matter where he thought he was heading, it seemed to him that “The Touch” was just a distant, decade-old memory.

That’s when the song got an extremely high-profile second chance through the combined efforts of Mark Wahlberg and Paul Thomas Anderson. In 1997, Anderson released Boogie Nights, his critically beloved tale of the rise and fall of Dirk Diggler, a fictional porn star. Anderson had been fascinated by “The Touch” since its early days. In 1988, he had made an extremely low-budget early version of Boogie Nights, a half-hour-long piece called The Dirk Diggler Story. In it, he’d depicted Diggler attempting to branch out into music by (terribly) performing “The Touch.” When it came time to make the big-screen version nearly a decade later, Anderson kept the scene almost entirely intact. Bush, however, had no input about its use.

“Boogie Nights, that was all set up through the publisher,” Bush said. “It was an after-the-fact thing on my end. I just went to the theater and saw the scene. I guess it’s the old axiom about any exposure being good.”

The scene is certainly memorable. After his porn career collapses, Diggler (played by Mark Wahlberg in a career-altering performance), tries to pay for his coke and meth habits by recording a vanity single. The song he anachronistically picks (given that the scene is set in 1983, three years before the song’s real-life origins in 1986) is none other than “The Touch.”

So, there you go. That is the history of “The Touch”… look up the soundtrack online if you want to hear it in all its full glory. Lets rinse our ears with some Marvin Gaye and “Got to Give it Up – Part 1”. You’re on Joy.

MUSIC: “Got to Give it Up” – Part 1 – Marvin Gaye, “Mama Told Me Not to Come” – Three Dog Night

CARLA: You’re on Joy 9.49 and this is Film on the Radio. That was “Got to Give it Up – Part 1” by Marvin Gaye and “Mama Told Me Not To Come” by Three Dog Night and both these tracks are on the Boogie Nights soundtrack. Almost all the songs except for “Mama Told Me Not to Come” that I’ll play tonight were on the first Boogie Nights soundtrack. A second was released a year later but never really latched onto me as much as the first. Do you have both or did you have both? I love hearing from soundtrack obsessives please get in touch on facebook and twitter @filmontheradio or via email filmontheradio@joy.org.au. There’s plenty of music biz trivia for this film – this is all compiled on IMDB:

“During Rollergirl’s final scene, she cleans her room while wearing headphones. The song she listens to is “Voices Carry” by ‘Til Tuesday. The lead singer, Aimee Mann, is married to Michael Penn, who performed original music for the film, and appears briefly as a music producer for Dirk and Reed.”

“Dirk and Reed record “You Got the Touch” at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys. This is the same studio where Rick Springfield recorded “Jessie’s Girl” – later heard during the drug deal scene on Rahad’s mix tape.

“The movie was named after a 1977 disco hit by Heatwave. However, the group’s lead singer, Johnny Wilder, Jr., a devout born-again Christian, refused to allow the song in the movie because it was about dancing, not pornography.”

“Electric Light Orchestra leader Jeff Lynne originally refused to let the song “Livin’ Thing” be used in the film because he has “a problem with sex and violence in movies.” Lynne asked to see a screening of the film and loved it so much that he allowed the song to be used.”

MUSIC: “Livin’ Thing” – ELO, “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” – McFadden and Whitehead

CARLA: This is Film on the Radio and you’re on 94.9 and this week we are discussing Boogie Nights. Happy New Year! I hope this new year fills you with excitement and joy. This is the 4^th broadcast of 8 in the summer series so we are at the mid-point. I’m still undecided about which next 4 to choose as there are so many in my mind. I need to choose two soundtracks that are heavy on Australian content so please reach out to me if you have any ideas!

I always like to wrap up the show with some film gossip! Apparently this was a pretty explosive set and Burt Reynolds had a temper like no other and almost got into a first fight with practically every male actor on set. He did come to blow with PTA – here is story as told to Grantland:

John Wildermuth – first assistant director “Burt got so frustrated he pulled Paul outside into the backyard and started yelling at him, like a father, you know? “You fuckin’ little punk kid, don’t tell me what to do. You let all the other actors do free takes and you’re not letting me do any.” He read him the riot act. Paul stood there and took it in and then argued back with him. And then when they walked back into the house, Paul had his sly little smirk on his face.”

From Burt Reynolds side of things in GQ “It’s no secret the pair didn’t get along on set. Reynolds, who played porn filmmaker Jack Horner, recently told GQ why their personalities clashed. “I think mostly because he was young and full of himself. Every shot we did, it was like the first time [that shot had ever been done].” He also told The Guardian that he turned down acting in Anderson’s follow-up, Magnolia, because “I’d done my picture with Paul Thomas Anderson, that was enough for me.”

In addition to not being a fan of Anderson, Reynolds didn’t like the movie either. “I just didn’t like the subject matter,” he told 11th Hour. “I thought I did a good job, I certainly worked hard on that film, but I was never crazy about it.”

The most amount of gossip naturally and hilariously revolves around the construction of the prosthetic used by Wahlberg.

Howard Berger – Special Makeup Effects Supervisor “We started creating the prosthetic by building a wire frame armature and then sculpting the penis in clay. And then we took a three-piece plaster mold and split it right down the center so it was one side, one side, and then there was a back plug that had the core that created the receptacle in the testicles”.

“We sculpted a version that was 12 inches long, and we tested it and it was just way too big. It looked just like a weird monster penis. The next one was seven inches; that was the penis we went with. One of our artists, Garrett Immel, sculpted this penis to be slightly erect and with the testicles and everything. We made a core that created a void that Mark could put his own anatomy into. And so we’d give that to Mark and he would go in the bathroom and he’d do that and he’d come out and Garrett would glue it all down. We had a little merkin, a very finely made wig that somebody actually ties one hair at a time into this very fine lace. We took a pattern around that area around the penis and tied that lace piece and matched the color to Mark’s hair. That was the final thing. We spent two weeks making the penises.”

Robert Elswit – Director of Photography “The prep period on Boogie Nights lasted eight weeks. We watched every existing porno that was ever shot on film. We went to see guys who had vast libraries, and some of it was shot on 35-millimeter film, like period gangster films. It was astonishing. They cost like $100,000.

MUSIC: “God Only Knows” – The Beach Boys