In the late ’80s, struggling screenwriter J.F. Lawton spent his coffee breaks at his local Hollywood Boulevard doughnut shop, talking with the hookers who worked the boulevard each night. They told him tales of neglectful childhoods, drug abuse and bizarre sexual requests — like the man who hired a pro for a threesome with him and his blowup doll.
Lawton also heard about girls swept off to temporary lives of luxury by rich clients, only to then be dumped back on the streets. One told of “tearing up” at a “Broadway-type” play; another was bewildered by the utensils at a fancy restaurant.
Little did these women know that their sad tales would become the foundation for one of the most successful romantic comedies of all time.
NEW YORKERS SHARE THEIR FAVORITE ‘PRETTY WOMAN’ SCENES
In the Julia Roberts-Richard Gere classic “Pretty Woman,” which was released 20 years ago today, Roberts played Vivian Ward, a streetwalker hired by corporate raider Edward Lewis (Gere) as his escort. Vivian spends a week in Lewis’ privileged existence, and they fall in love.
But the early versions of Lawton’s script, which was then called “Three Thousand,” depicted a darker life for Vivian, complete with drug problems and an ending that placed her back in her pitiful world.
When the script was purchased by Disney as a vehicle for “Happy Days” creator Garry Marshall to direct, an intense debate began about the film’s story line.
Lawton and several others did rewrites, some of which led to questionable decisions. “[In one], there was a scene where Vivian was tying Edward up, and there were some S&M implications,” says Lawton.
“I objected highly to that. I said to Garry, ‘Is it gonna be a soft-core [porn] film? What kind of film are we making?’ ”
Meanwhile, the casting process faced issues, as several big-name actresses were turned off by the film’s content. Molly Ringwald passed, as did Daryl Hannah, who later called the film “degrading for the whole of womankind.” Jennifer Jason Leigh once told New York magazine that when Marshall described Vivian to her as someone who had “only been doing this a few weeks, so it’s still a lot of fun for her,” Leigh thought, “Yeah, it’s a lot of fun getting into a car with a 68-year-old and giving him a b – – –
j – -. Really exciting.”
Once Roberts was cast, Marshall edged the film toward comedy, which created another issue. Roberts had limited experience with comedy, and wasn’t finding the right tone in early readings.
One improbable screen test helped her find the funny.
“I said, ‘Julia, I’m going to bring in an actor who is much, much funnier than you. He’s going to improvise, so try to stay with him,’ ” Marshall told the New York Times in 2000. “The actor was Charles Grodin. Suddenly, she had that championship spirit.”
After also talking with the likes of Al Pacino and Sting, Gere was cast, and production began with a rewritten script, complete with the fairy-tale ending. A surprising number of the film’s most memorable scenes, though, wound up improvised, as Marshall allowed his actors to cut loose on set.
“He’d just go, ‘Say something funny here,’ because he trusted you,” says Laura San Giacomo, who plays Vivian’s hooker friend, Kit. “So he says, ‘Say something funny about Cinderella,’ and [that leads to] the ‘Cindaf – – – ingrella’ line. It was improvised.”
The scene where Edward takes Vivian shopping and a salesman caters to their whims was so improvised that the salesman character was never even in the script.
“Richard created a great moment of comedy,” says comedian Larry Miller, who played the salesman.
“Garry told me, ‘He’ll say he wants some sucking up, but you’ll misunderstand,’ ” Miller says. “So I improvised, ‘You’re not only handsome, but a powerful man,’ and Richard let it go just long enough before he said, ‘Not me. Her.’ He just popped it. It was very good comic timing.”
Roberts’ spontaneity, meanwhile, was especially apparent in a scene in which Edward offers Vivian a jewelry case, then snaps it shut at the last second, causing an exuberant laugh from the ingénue. The moment was improvised.
“Garry and Richard concocted that, but she didn’t know. That’s why they got that incredible moment out of her,” says producer Laura Ziskin.
As the film continued to blossom, people on-set and off realized Roberts was about to become the hottest star in Hollywood.
“Halfway through shooting, I noticed limos coming up. They were agents,” says Hector Elizondo, who played the hotel’s manager. “The word was out that she was an emerging star.”
Elizondo describes Roberts then as a bright, introspective young woman who spent her downtime reading the famous Zen author D.T. Suzuki. As such, it’s not surprising that she questioned this sudden popularity.
“She was taken aback by the attention,” says Elizondo. “I said, ‘It’s business — and you’re gonna be good for business.’ ”
Elizondo was right. “Pretty Woman” went on to gross more than $463 million worldwide — and leave an indelible mark on pop culture.
“I’ve had at least five millionaires come up to me with their wives and say, ‘You see my wife. It’s just like “Pretty Woman.” She used to be a prostitute,’ ” says screenwriter Lawton.
“And the wife just smiles happily.”