But the film faced a difficult road fraught with casting trouble, studio changes, and total rewrites before it finally got made. Despite its iconic status, we’re willing to bet there’s a lot you don’t know about ‘Pretty Woman.’
The original ending was super dark
Pretty Womanis the quintessential feel-good romantic comedy, but the original ending of the film was pretty intense.
In the original script, Vivian’s friend, Kit, dies of an overdose; and Edward and Vivian don’t end up together. He throws Vivian out of his car, along with the money he paid her for the weekend.
Wow. That’s pretty grim.
The movie likely wouldn’t have been nearly as successful as it was had that been the film’s. But when Disney stepped in as producers, dramatic changes were made to the script to turn it into a crowd-pleasing modern-day fairy tale.
Julia Roberts auditioned twice
Several actresses auditioned for the role of Vivian beforeJulia Robertswas cast. However, when the film changed hands and wound up at Disney, the higher-ups were pretty dead-set against having Roberts in the film. She was a fairly new face, with barely any credits to her name.
Roberts suddenly didn’t have the part anymore, and was forced to audition for a second time. The role was offered to several other actresses, with each one either being unavailable to shoot the movie or flat-out turning the role down. In the end, Roberts was ultimately cast (again).
The movie was originally titled ‘$3,000’
When it first entered production,Pretty Womanwas a very different movie. It was called$3,000, and Vivian was a drug addict. Her relationship with Edward is purely transactional, and the title refers to the amount of money that Edward pays her.
When the project got picked up by Disney, Roberts had to audition for the new director,Garry Marshall, who wasn’t interested in casting her at first. When the movie changed from a dark drama to a lighter romantic comedy, Roberts became the obvious choice.
It was hard to make Roberts laugh on camera
America fell in love with Roberts’ laugh inPretty Woman, but not many people know how difficult it was getting the actress to genuinely giggle. Sure, Gere got her to bark in surprise during the jewelry box scene, but an earlier incident proved even more taxing.
During the scene where Vivian watchesI Love Lucyreruns, Roberts had trouble laughing convincingly. So, Garry Marshall positioned himself just off screen and tickled Roberts’ feet to get the desired results. It’s a memorable scene, but it’s as disconcerting as it is charming: Vivian is so delighted, you’d think she’d never been allowed near a TV before, let alone one that shows moving pictures of a lady eating chocolate off a conveyor belt.
Richard Gere turned the movie down several times
The decision to cast Richard Gere wasn’t arrived at easily. But even when Marshall realized Gere was the right person to play Edward, the actor didn’t feel the same way. Gere turned down the offer to star inPretty Womannot once but several times.
As a last resort, Marshall flew Julia Roberts out to New York to talk to Gere person and attempt to convince him. She wrote “please say yes” on a post-it note and showed it to Gere while he was on the phone with Marshall, and Gere finally agreed.
