Pretty Woman Movie Secrets We Would Never Have Guessed

Pretty Woman is Disney's highest-grossing R-rated release

Image Source/ Tampa Bay TimesIt's hard to imagine considering the extensive works Disney has produced in the 30 years since, that Pretty Woman remains to be one of the most staple pieces of their production list. It's no surprise that it performed so well, with its astounding cast and director.

Vivian was meant to played by Diane Lane

Image Source/ New York Daily NewsJulia Roberts is a phenomenal actor, and I don't think any of us could consider the role being played by anyone else. But the fabulous Diane Lane revealed she was initially meant to play the part, but had to pass on the opportunity due to schedule conflicts.

Everyone wanted a piece of Vivian

Image Source/ WhatCulture.comIt wasn't just Diane Lane and Julia Roberts in the line-up for one of the most iconic roles ever. Actually, the extensive list includes some fantastic, well know names: Daryl Hannah, Winona Ryder, Jennifer Connelly, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Steenburgen and Meg Ryan.

Meg Ryan was kicking herself after passing on the role

Image Source/ TODAYRyan conceded her movie roles to Roberts not once, but twice! Both times, the roles have landed Roberts Oscar nominations. Before she passed on the opportunity to appear in Pretty Woman, she also passed on Steel Magnolias, which saw Roberts winning Best Supporting Actress.

Julia Roberts got the role by the skin of her teeth

Image Source/ EOnline.comIt wasn't an easy ride to convince the casting manager to hire her, and she had to audition multiple times for the lead role. Disney had a huge role to play after they completely altered the theme of the film, and Roberts wasn't as well known at the time.

How much did Julia Roberts really get paid?

Image Source/ The ListIt might be surprisingly low consider Roberts' experience, but you have to remember that she was only young when the film was being made. She has actually reported herself that she earned $300,000 for starring in one of the most famous films ever made.

Sylvester Stallone auditioned for the part of Edward

Image Source/ Encyclopaedia BritannicaI think we can all agree that Richard Gere did a pretty spectacular job in Pretty Woman, but the role wasn't always his. Actually, there was a number of famous celebrities that were considered, including John Travolta, Christopher Reeve, Kevin Kline, Denzel Washington and Sylvester Stallone.

Richard Gere took some convincing to star in Pretty Woman

Image Source/ WWDDespite the high demand for the role, Gere wasn't convinced by the part, and it took Roberts to encourage him to take the role. She flew over to New York to convince him, where Garry Marshall phoned him while she wrote "just say yes" on a post it note for him to read.

Garry Marshall originally had his eyes on different actors

Image Source/ Vanity FairThe director of Pretty Woman, Garry Marshall, has actually admitted that he had his eyes on Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer initially before casting the roles. However, after a table read, he was even more pleased with the abilities of Gere and Roberts.

The original script was never called Pretty Woman

Image Source/ EtsyThat's right, contrary to popular belief, Pretty Woman never started out as Pretty Woman. Written by J.F. Lawton in the late eighties, it was originally called $3,000. All you die hard fans will understand that it references the $3,000 that Edward pays Vivian in the film.

It was renamed after Roy Orbison's song "Oh, Pretty Woman"

Image Source/ VarietyThe classic and famous song performed by Roy Orbison was the inspiration behind the title of the 1990's Pretty Woman. The studio loved the song that much, and felt it encapsulated the theme and plot of the film so well, that the song featured on the movie's soundtrack.

Richard Gere played the film's soundtrack

Image Source/ History By DayWe will all remember the scene where Edward plays the piano in Pretty Woman. What we didn't know was Richard Gere was genuinely playing during that scene, an original composition. It was so liked that it ended up on the movie's soundtrack. What a guy!

Ferrari and Porsche refused to feature their cars

Image Source/ Adrian FluxI bet they regret this one now! Car manufacturers Ferrari and Porsche refused to allow Pretty Woman to feature their cars, as they didn't want any association with prostitution. Instead, Edward results in driving a top-of-the-range sportscar from Lotus Cars.

That necklace really was expensive

Image Source/ EtsyRemember the scene where Edward presents Vivian a beautiful ruby and diamond necklace? How could you forget! Well, it turns out the real thing really was worth a quarter of a million dollars, and they even had to have extra security on set that day.

The necklace scene nearly didn't make it in

Image Source/ The SunOne of the most iconic scenes from Pretty Woman is the necklace scene, and that's because of Edward's reaction when the box snapped shut. It was only done because Marshall was playing a gag on Gere, but he loved his reaction so much it made the final cut.

Garry Marshall appeared in the film himself...

Image Source/ PinterestIt's not just Stan Lee that likes to make cameos in his own films you know. Lots of directors like to do it, and Garry Marshall is one of them. Remember the scene where Edwards asks a homeless man for directions? Yep, that's the one and only Garry Marshall.

...and so did the costume designer!

Image Source/ GetYarn.ioThe Pretty Woman costume designer Marilyn Vance decided she wanted to make a quick cameo appearance too. You might remember the scene were someone shouts "What's your dream? Everybody's got a dream!" Well, believe it or not, that was her. Very sneaky!

All of Julia Roberts' looks were custom made...

Image Source/ Glamour UKObviously, aside from the Chanel heels, all of Vivian's looks in the film were made by hand. Marilyn Vance and her team worked tirelessly to dress Roberts the best way they could, which included designing and making the polka dot polo dress and iconic cut-out dress.

Marilyn Vance travelled all the way to Italy to source fabric

Image Source/ IMDbIt's clear that the production team were not stopping at any length to get what they wanted. This involved Vance and her team travelling across the world to Italy, just to find the right fabric in order to make Gere's suits, whose looks were also custom made.

Vivian's opera look was meant to be black

Image Source/ BuzzFeedThe studio had their visions for the film, and that meant for some of Vivian's looks too. For example, the iconic red dress that Vivian worse to the opera was originally going to be a black gown. After trialling three looks, Vance managed to convince them to go for the red dress.

Julia Roberts was so anxious she broke out in hives

Image Source/ Wonderwall.comThat's right. Because she was only 21 at the time, she hadn't had much experience, so would get really anxious about the scenes, especially the sex scene. She told ABC News:

"I had never done this kind of stuff before, and I was really nervous. I'd get hives. They'd say, 'kiss,' and I'd get a hive."

You remember the iconic movie poster? That's not Julia Roberts!

Image Source/ Amazon.co.ukEveryone remembers Pretty Woman with this legendary movie poster. As it turns out, it isn't Roberts' body that features, just her face superimposed onto her the body double Shelley Michelle. It's hard to believe that such a memorable poster is a lie.

The bathtub scene was a nightmare to film

Image Source/ Purple CloverFilming can be unpredictable, and Roberts quickly found that out. Pretty Woman fans will definitely remember this scene, but they won't know how much effort it took. After spending so much time in the bathtub, she said:

"By the end of the day, the detergent had taken off all of my hair color. We had emergency hair color at 10 o'clock at night because of the bathtub."

Edward never initially ended up with Vivian

Image Source/ SHEmazing!Much like the fact above, this comes from a discrepancy in the original script J.F. Lawton wrote. It turns out that Edward and Vivian were never meant to be together, and was supposed to end with a drug-addicted Vivian travelling to Disneyland with Kit.

The original version was much grittier...

Image Source/ DazedGiven the last fact, it sounds like the original version of Pretty Woman wasn't as feel-good as it turned out to be.  Lane said:

"Originally, this crazy [woman] was kicked out of a rolling limo in the end because she was delusional that she thought this guy was in love with her."

Which opera performance did Vivian and Edward attend?

Image Source/ RedditFans will remember that protagonists Vivian and Edward attended the opera together, but it was never revealed which performance they saw... until now! It turns out that it was La Traviata that they saw, telling the story of a man falling in love with a prostitute. Uncanny.

Julia Roberts was having her feet tickled during one scene...

Image Source/ Rooftop Film ClubEven the best of us struggle sometimes, and it was clear that this was one of those days for Roberts. During the scene where Vivian watches re-runs of I Love Lucy, Roberts struggled to stifle a genuine laugh. So, Marshall insisted on tickling her feet off camera.

The team got back together again

Image Source/ VogueIn 1999, Runaway Bride was filmed and starred all the same major stars that Pretty Woman did, with Marshall reprising his role as director. Mirroring what Roberts had done years before, Gere refused to star unless his ex-co-star did too. "If you can get Julia, I'm in."

Pretty Woman: The Musical

Image Source/ The StageThe film was re-made into a Broadway production and was initially performed in August 2018 after four long years of development. Much like it's big-budget predecessor, the stage adaptation featured big names, including Jenna Dewan's fiancé Steve Kazee and Les Misérables' Samantha Barks.

There will never be a sequel

Image Source/ Us WeeklyGiven how successful Pretty Woman was, you'd expect that the director would be eager to produce a sequel. However, you'd be surprised that despite being one of the top-grossing movies of the year, Marshall and the actors vowed that they would never film a sequel. Boring!