Pretty Woman is one of those movies I can watch countless times β it never gets old or boring.
But considering how many times Iβve seen it, itβs a bit surprising that Iβve never noticed these bloopers and mistakes that tell a different story about the film.Disney changed everything
Pretty Woman became a romantic comedy that captivated millions and launched Richard Gere and Julia Roberts to superstardom.
But thatβs not how it was supposed to be. The original screenplay was titled 3,000, penned by then-struggling screenwriter J.F. Lawton. The early draft tackled much darker themes about societal disparity and corporate greed.greed.
Julia Roberts has a drink with Richard Gere in a scene from the film βPretty Womanβ, 1990. (Photo by Buena Vista/Getty Images)
However, everything changed when Disney took the reins. The company preferred to downplay the themes of class and sex work in Los Angeles. Instead, Disney gave it a large budget and turned it more into a a romantic comedyAl Pacino turned down the lead role
For me, itβs unthinkable to envision anyone other than Richard Gere in the role of Edward Lewis, the mega-rich business man from New York who hires Vivian (Julia Roberts) to be his escort for a week.
The casting process for Pretty Woman took longer than expected, with Al Pacino initially leading the charge for the role of Lewis. The legendary actor even went so far as to participate in a casting reading with Julia Roberts before ultimately deciding to turn the part down.
Although he liked the script, Pacino never disclosed his reasons for passing on the role. In hindsight, he has expressed admiration for Roberts, who was a relatively unknown actress at the time.
βI mean, you could tell at the reading, this is going to be good, this is going to be a hit picture. You just knew it,β Pacino shared.
He went on to say: βAnd this girl was phenomenal. I mean, I said to Gary, βWhere did you get this girl?ββ (Gary being Gary Marshall, the filmβs director). Pacinoβs instincts were spot on, as Robertsβs standout performance would define her career and the filmβs legacy.
The croissant becomes a pancake
In the scene where Richard Gereβs character orders breakfast to the room, thereβs a funny little detail you might not have noticed. It starts with Vivian enjoying a croissant while talking to Edward.
But then, in the blink of an eye, the croissant magically turns into a pancake.
Screenshot
How did that happen? According to director Garry Marshall, he preferred Robertsβ performance in the later takes, where she was eating a pancake instead of the croissant, so they kept the footage.
However, this created a continuity issue. In the first shot with the pancake, Vivian takes a second bite, but in the following shot, the pancake has only one bite missing, and the bite pattern is noticeably different.
Itβs clearly not the same pancake!
Truth behind the iconic dress
The careful consideration of costume design might go unnoticed by the average moviegoer. However, whether you have a keen eye for fashion or not, itβs impossible to overlook the iconic red dress that Julia Robertsβ character wears in the movie.
The red dress symbolizes Vivanβs transformation and empowerment, during an βtransformativeβ scene in the film where Robertsβ character accompanies her Edward Lewis for a night at the opera.
Wikipedia Commons
Vogue described the dress as βeye-catching, incredibly sexy without losing an ounce of elegance.β The genius behind that stunning dress? None other than the award-winning costume designer Marilyn Vance.
She crafted six fabulous outfits for Julia Robertsβ character, Vivian Ward, and was also the mastermind behind Richard Gereβs dapper looks.
Take, for instance, the charming brown-and-white polka dot dress Roberts wore to the horse race. That little gem was created from old silk found in a tiny antique fabric shop in Los Angeles β talk about recycling in style! And those chic shoes? Yup, they were by Chanel.
Richard Gereβs tie
As for Gereβs wardrobe, it was a masterclass in color coordination, featuring brown, navy, and blue-gray suits, all designed by Vance.
Now, about that famous tie that Roberts snatches from a store employee? According to Vance, it was βnothing specialβ and certainly not designer.
She picked it up in a Los Angeles shop for a cool $48.
During the polo match, Edward sports a straight-collar shirt along with the tie that Vivian gifted him, knotted in a half-Windsor. But in a later scene, the sharp-eyed viewer can spot a subtle change β Edwardβs collar has magically transformed into a spread style, and the tie is now in a full-Windsor knot.
βObsceneβ shopping spree
When Richard Gere introduces Julia Robertsβ character to the glamorous world of the rich, he takes her on a wild shopping spree down Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
That afternoon shopping trip? It would have set Gereβs character back at least $30,000, according to designer Marilyn Vance.
Talk about a retail therapy session on steroids! Itβs like they were shopping with Monopoly money β no wonder Vivian was in a daze.Vivian starts with four neatly arranged options (not counting that fancy gold circle one). But in the next shot, like magic, the order has completely changed.
Richard Gere didnβt like his character
Richard Gere has certainly benefited from the success of Pretty Womanβboth in terms of his career and his bank account. But he hasnβt always been entirely positive about the film, especially when it comes to his character, Edward. At a film festival in Venice, Gere described Edward as βcriminally underwritten.β He added, βBasically, heβs just a suit and a good haircut.β
One scene in particular seemed to irk Gere, featuring Edward playing the piano while Vivian edges closer. Reflecting on it, Gere sarcastically remarked: βI mean, no chemistry. This actor and this actress obviously had no chemistry between themβ¦ I havenβt seen that in a long time. Thatβs a sexy scene.β
Director Garry Marshall came up with the idea for the scene after asking Gere what he usually did late at night in a hotel. Gere recalled, βAnd I said, βWell, Iβm usually jet lagged, [that] would be the time Iβm in a hotel. So Iβm up all night and usually thereβs a ballroom somewhere or a bar, and Iβll find a piano and Iβll play the piano.ββ Marshall then suggested, βWell, letβs do something with that.β
So, the scene was essentially improvised, with Gere explaining: βHe said, βPlay something moody.β I just started playing something moody that was this characterβs interior life.β
Then, just as mysteriously, they snap back to the original lineup in the third shot. Itβs as if the condoms were having their own little dance routine behind the scenes.
More than just onscreen lovers
If you ask me, the chemistry Julia Roberts and Gere in Pretty Woman was undeniable. But the sparks didnβt just fly when the cameras were rolling β they formed a close bond off-screen too.
In 2017, Gere shared that he still talks to Roberts βall the time,β and back in the day, they would speak βthree or four times a day.β
You could say it was love at first sight, in a friendly sort of way.
βYeah, we loved each other immediately. So it was a nice thing,β Gere admitted.
Even director Garry Marshall noticed the connection between them right away.
He recalled a moment during the first meeting when he stepped out to use the restroom, leaving the actors alone to get acquainted.
βI came out and saw the two of them at the end of a hall, just looking at each other,β Marshall said. βAnd right there, I thought, look at that chemistry. They donβt know each other, and yet theyβre doing great.β
Roberts convinced Gere to star in Pretty Woman
Although Al Pacino came close to landing the role, it seems Julia Roberts was determined to have Richard Gere as her on-screen partner.
She practically pleaded with Richard Gere in a very genuine way.
βHeβs a very serious actor and he had very specific thoughts about the movie and the part and what worked and didnβt work for him,β she told SiriusXM in 2017.
βI think I just nodded and smiled a lot and agreed with everything he said. I said, βYou have to do this movie, if you donβt do this movie and it falls apart and I lose this job itβll just be terrible.ββ
And this is how it all went down according to Richard Gere:
βI still didnβt know if I was doing this movie. Weβre getting to know each other, weβre flirty, flirtyβ¦nice, niceβ¦Sheβs across the desk, she takes a piece of paper, and sheβs writing something on it and she turns it around and pushes it to meβ¦βPlease say yes
