Why Julia Roberts was ‘crushed’ at the start of ‘Pretty Woman’ filming
nypost.comJulia Roberts was “crushed” when the original version of her hit 1990 rom-com “Pretty Woman” was initially scrapped.“It was going to be a much darker film called ‘$3,000,’ ” Roberts, 56, said, referring to the amount it cost Edward (played by Richard Gere) to spend the night with Vivian Ward. “Vivian was a drug addict and the movie ended with him leaving her in a side street, throwing the money at her, and driving away,” Roberts said during an appearance on “The Graham Norton Show” Friday, while promoting her Netflix film “Leave the World Behind.” “I got that part in that movie and felt really proud, but when the production company folded and the film disappeared I was crushed,” the “Eat, Pray, Love” star added. “But then Disney picked it up, which seemed so unlikely, and made it funny.” The film, which grossed $463.4 million at the box office, tells the story of Vivian, an LA prostitute, who is hired by a wealthy businessman to accompany him to various events over a weekend.
Ultimately, the pair end up falling in love and staying together. The film earned Roberts a Golden Globe and Academy Award nomination.
Due to the commercial success of the film, it was adapted as a Broadway musical in 2018 where it ran at the Nederlander theater in New York City for a year.
Roberts appeared on the famed British talk show alongside Tom Hanks, Cher and Timothée Chalamet.In 2019, Roberts appeared in Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series where she also told Patricia Arquette about the film’s journey.
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