It will always boggle my mind that Paul Thomas Anderson made Boogie Nights when he was 27 years old, but it is a fact -- one that's hammered home when you watch old interviews of a young, nerdy-looking Anderson discussing the movie. Here's a great two-part interview Anderson did with Charlie Rose around the time Boogie Nights arrived on the scene.

During the chat, Anderson talks about Leonardo DiCaprio turning down the lead role in order to make Titanic, and how it was DiCaprio who suggested Anderson go meet with Mark Wahlberg. Years later DiCaprio would call that decision his "biggest regret" even though Titanic turned him into a megastar. "My biggest regret is Boogie Nights," he said back in 2010. "I'm a huge fan of Paul Thomas Anderson but the first time I met him for that role I hadn't really seen much of his previous work. Now I love that movie."

The interview also touches upon Anderson's fondness for shooting long takes, why he thinks film school is a waste of time, and, my favorite part, the origins of Rollergirl. Turns out Rollergirl is based on a character Anderson watched in a real porn movie that was hidden inside Robert Redford's private stash. Wait, Redford has a porn stash?

How Anderson wound up watching Redford's porn movies is a funny story, and you can watch the filmmaker tell it below in the beginning of part 2. [via Cinephilia & Beyond]







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