Pretty Woman was the film that saw Julia Roberts become ‘America’s Sweetheart’ and a true Hollywood icon alongside the suave Richard Gere.
The 1990 romcom won a legion of fans upon release, and it remains one of the greatest films of its genre ever made.
But it could have been very different indeed…
Julia Roberts won the role of struggling prostitute Vivian Ward, but just three days later she actually lost the job, because the film – originally titled 3,000 – had cast her soon before its original production company, Vestron Pictures, went out of business.
“This small movie company folded over the weekend, and by Monday, I didn’t have a job,” Julia told Variety in 2019.
Initially, the film was going to be “a gritty art movie” with a “really heavy” ending. However, Disney ended up buying the film rights, brought in director Garry Marshall, and it transformed into the 1990 romantic comedy Pretty Woman.
Julia had to audition for the role again after Marshall came on boarrd, as he wanted to take a look at other Hollywood A-listers.
“Garry Marshall came on, and because he’s a great human being, he felt it would only be fair to meet me, since I had this job for three days and lost it,” Julia explained.
Thankfully, she won him over, and Marshall avoided a big mistake. Huge.
