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”)
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.
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.
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.
The Deleted Scenes
As we've mentioned before, the original script for "Pretty Woman" was way, way darker. But since Disney was producing it, they had to make some pretty big adjustments. This caused a lot of scenes to be deleted, and it's a shame they were because some are simply amazing!
One is a romantic sunset horse ride that Vivian and Edward go on, the other shows Vivian putting ketchup on her fancy, expensive steak, and another one is where Edward almost gets into a nasty fight while trying to protect Vivian from a gang!