Roberts’ Favorite Scene in the Movie
“Pretty Woman” has many lovely scenes, but Julia Roberts’ favorite was early in the film when she drove the Lotus automobile for Edward. She said she wasn’t really good at driving at the time but enjoyed it nevertheless, describing it as a hilarious scene.
Garry Marshall admitted the cameramen struggled to keep up with her fast driving.
Preparation For The Role
Julia Roberts didn’t want to miss the opportunity of really being able to play her role effectively, so she immersed herself in a free clinic in Los Angeles, where Garry Marshall’s wife worked as a nurse.
She met working girls there and tried to understand their plight until she was confident enough to play her character as Vivian Ward.
The Original Version Was Much Darker
The final version of the film we love is a romantic comedy, but its original script was intent on showing us a dark version of it. It had Vivian Ward as an addicted working girl, whom Edward paid $3,000 to stay with him for a week, but their deal was cut short as he could no longer stand being with her.
Vivian gets thrown out on the side of the road. Kit, her close friend, tragically dies. There was nothing romantic about it at all.
Four Screenwriters
There were so many changes made to the original script that the final draft was actually written by four different screenwriters...at least! Despite the fact that J.F. Lawton is the only credited writer for the movie, other talented scriptwriters helped add to it along the way.
Most noticeably, these include Robert Garland ("The Big Blue"; "No Way Out"), Barbara Benedek ("The Big Chill"; "Sabrina") and Stephen Metcalfe ("Turner & Hooch"; "Cousins")
Ralph Bellamy's Final Role
Remember Mr. Morse, the sweet old man that Richard Gere is doing a business deal with? Well, this sweet old man is none other than Ralph Bellamy, who was a Hollywood institution.
With a career stretched over 62 years, he made cinema history with his brilliant roles on stage, in film, and on TV. Sadly, Bellamy's role in "Pretty Woman" would be his last before passing away on November 29th, 1991.