According to an interview with Paul Thomas Anderson, he and Burt Reynolds did not get along during filming. Anderson still planned to hire Reynolds for Magnolia (1999), but Reynolds became angry with Anderson during the film's promotional tour and turned the role down.
Although Amber Waves' actual name is never stated in the film, it's clear that her real first name is Maggie. During the party scene, Amber's young son, whom her ex-husband has forbidden her to have contact with due to her work in porn and drug use, calls her house asking for her. Maurice Rodriguez tries to find her, but can't because he and the people he asks at the party don't know that Maggie and Amber are the same person. Her ex-husband later calls her as Maggie during their custody hearing.
Dirk Diggler performs a studio recording of Stan Bush's song "The Touch" in March 1983. The song was written for The Transformers: The Movie, which was released in 1986.
When Amber and her ex-husband met with a judge about custody
in September of 1983, portraits of President Ronald Reagan and Governor Jerry Brown are on the wall. Brown was governor from January 1975 to January 1983; George Deukmejian had been governor for several months by September 1983.
Were any of the characters based on real life people?
A
Several characters were
inspired by the lives of real people,
many who have been involved with moviemaking in and around Hollywood
over the last several decades. The rise and fall of Eddie Adams
was inspired by porn star Shauna Grant (born Colleen Applegate), while the more
multilayered inspiration came from John Holmes for the Dirk
Diggler/Brock Landers characters. Amber Waves's story was also supposedly inspired by porn actress, Veronica Hart, who played the judge in the custody scene.
Q
At the end of credits, a voice can be heard. What does it say?
A
The voice is that of Mark Walhberg. The dialogue is from the scene he was about to shoot when the credits began. The dialogue is: "I just want to talk to you... Raphael... *groans*... Goddamit... *heavy breathing*... Shit... Raphael... Where is he? Where's Ringo?"
Q
What was the Colonel's crime?
A
It's only hinted at in the scene where the Colonel talks to Jack Horner in prison but the Colonel had a number of pornographic films featuring children that he'd either collected OR shot himself in his basement. It probably wasn't mentioned specifically in the dialogue because it heightened the drama and intensity of the scene - we're meant to focus on Jack's reaction to the news, rather than the Colonel's confession.