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  3. 10 Things You Didn't Know About Pretty Woman, Which Came Out 31 Years Ago Today

10 Things You Didn't Know About Pretty Woman, Which Came Out 31 Years Ago Today

We're celebrating the iconic rom-com's milestone birthday with a round of trivia

By Maria Yagoda
Updated March 23, 2021 07:45 AM
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Burt Reynolds Could've Been the Lead

BURT REYNOLDS COULDA BEEN THE LEAD
Credit: Julie Markes/AP; Everett

Reynolds was initially offered the role of Edward Lewis, played by Richard Gere. When asked by Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live why he turned it down, he said simply, "Because I'm an idiot." 

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It Originally Had a Very Different Title

IT ORIGINALLY HAD A VERY DIFFERENT TITLE
Credit: Everett

When Disney first presented the script to director Garry Marshall and asked him to lighten it (without taking out the prostitution), the film was called 3000 – the price of one night with Vivian.

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That Necklace Screen Was Unscripted

THAT NECKLACE SCENE WAS UNSCRIPTED, BUT IT WAS PLANNED
Credit: Touchstone Pictures/ZUMA

One of the movie's most memorable scenes came when Gere's character presented a necklace to Vivian (Julia Roberts), and then, as many people know, Gere went off-script and snapped it shut – causing Roberts to laugh.

But what most people don't know is that director Garry Marshall engineered the moment to keep Roberts on her toes. He told USA Today, "She was young and went out and had fun. Sometimes she came in tired and sometimes we had to wake her up."

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Julia's Character Almost Had a Darker Side

JULIA'S CHARACTER ALMOST HAD A DARK(ER) SIDE
Credit: Globe Photos

In the original script, Vivian was addicted to cocaine. But it was ultimately decided that her career choice already provided the movie with sufficient edge.

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The Snail-Catching Waiter Is a Recurring Character

THE SNAIL-CATCHING WAITER IS A RECURRING CHARACTER

The server who grabbed the flying escargot that Vivian flung across the room during a fancy dinner out with Edward and said, "It happens all the time," pops up in another movie. Marshall cast the actor to say that same line in The Princess Diaries, which he directed years later.

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Gere 'Forgets' the Movie

GERE 'FORGETS' THE MOVIE
Credit: Mark Cuthbert/Getty

On a press tour for his 2012 film Arbitrage, Richard Gere hated on the 1990 film, claiming not to remember it. "People ask me about that movie, but I've forgotten it," he told Woman's Day in Australia. "That was a silly romantic comedy." (He's since had kinder things to say.)

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What Does He Remember? That It Was a Tough Role

Pretty Woman
Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection

Despite Gere's disparaging comments toward the film, he's also recognized that without that role, he may have never continued doing rom-coms. (Can you imagine a world with no Runaway Bride? We don't want to.)

"I never thought that I would be able to do a film like that. I didn't think I had the skill set for that. I'm a pretty intense guy," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "It wasn't particularly easy for me to be that lighthearted, basically."

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Director Marshall Cast His Son in the Movie

THE DIRECTOR CAST HIS SON IN THE MOVIE
Credit: CraSH imageSPACE/Splash News Online

Marshall, in his memoir My Happy Days in Hollywood, wrote about including his family in the vast majority of his projects, though not necessarily rewarding them with the juiciest roles. (His dad oversaw payroll for The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement and his sister is the late actress/director Penny Marshall.) In Pretty Woman, his son played a drug-dealing skateboarder.

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Roberts Had One Condition

ROBERTS HAD ONE CONDITION
Credit: Buena Vista Home Entertainment

When the star first met with director Marshall, the first thing she said was, "I won't be naked."

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Pretty Woman Was a Big Moment for ... Hank Azaria?

PRETTY WOMAN WAS A BIG MOMENT FOR HANK AZARIA?
Credit: Michael N. Todaro/WireImage

Yep, it was the first movie that the beloved Simpsons voice actor had any lines in, he told The A.V. Club. (Azaria played a detective.)

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    Everything in This Slideshow

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    1 of 10 Burt Reynolds Could've Been the Lead
    2 of 10 It Originally Had a Very Different Title
    3 of 10 That Necklace Screen Was Unscripted
    4 of 10 Julia's Character Almost Had a Darker Side
    5 of 10 The Snail-Catching Waiter Is a Recurring Character
    6 of 10 Gere 'Forgets' the Movie
    7 of 10 What Does He Remember? That It Was a Tough Role
    8 of 10 Director Marshall Cast His Son in the Movie
    9 of 10 Roberts Had One Condition
    10 of 10 Pretty Woman Was a Big Moment for ... Hank Azaria?

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