“Pretty Woman” is a timeless contemporary classic. It made Julia Roberts famous when she was unknown, and it was a huge hit that made about $500 million around the world.

However, the film had a long road ahead of it, with casting issues, studio changes, and whole rewrites. Despite its legendary stature, we’re ready to wager there’s a lot about ‘Pretty Woman’ that you don’t know.

The original conclusion was really gloomy.

Even though Pretty Woman is the perfect feel-good romantic comedy, the original ending of the movie was quite dramatic.

Vivian’s buddy Kit dies of an overdose in the original screenplay, and Edward and Vivian do not end up together. He tosses Vivian and the money she paid him for the weekend out of his vehicle.

If it had been the case, the film would not have been nearly as successful. When Disney took over as producers, though, the screenplay was changed a lot to make it a modern-day fairy tale that people would like.

Julia Roberts tried out twice.

Before Julia Roberts was hired, other actresses auditioned for the part of Vivian. When the project changed ownership and ended up at Disney, the higher-ups were adamantly opposed to having Roberts in the picture. She was a relatively fresh face with few credits to her name.

Roberts was suddenly unable to get the position and was obliged to audition again. The part was offered to numerous different women, all of whom were either unable to shoot the film or flatly declined it. Roberts was eventually selected for the role (again).

‘$3,000’ was the initial title of the film.

Pretty Woman was a vastly different film when it initially went into production. Vivian was a drug addict, and it was called $3,000. She only has a transactional relationship with Edward, which refers to the amount of money she gets from him.

When Disney bought up the film, Roberts had to audition for the director of the company, Garry Marshall, who wasn’t initially interested in hiring her. When the film’s tone shifted from dark drama to lighter comedy, Roberts was an obvious option.

It was difficult to get Roberts’ chuckle on video.

America fell in love with Julia Roberts’ laugh in Pretty Woman, but few people realize how tough it was to convince the actress to laugh sincerely. Gere did make her bark in surprise when she saw the jewelry box, but a different situation was harder.

Richard Gere turned down the film multiple times.

The choice to select Richard Gere was not made lightly. Even when Marshall believed Gere was the proper person to portray Edward, the actor was not convinced. Gere passed down the opportunity to appear in Pretty Woman not once, but twice.

Marshall dispatched Julia Roberts to New York as a last option to speak with Gere and attempt to persuade him. Gere ultimately accepted when she put “please say yes” on a post-it note and handed it to him while he was on the phone with Marshall.

One main outfit was purchased on the street.

The outfits worn by the different characters, notably Vivian, are one of the most memorable aspects of Pretty Woman. It’s a nice blend of late-’80s flair and fairy tale tuxedos and gowns. One of the film’s most memorable outfits was purchased on the street.

The red jacket that Vivian wears when Edward first notices her on Hollywood Boulevard was also observed by costume designers while driving around seeking inspiration. Some random person was wearing the coat, and they bought it right there for a handful of bucks.

Roberts’ hair was completely colorless after the bubble bath.

When Edward first meets Vivian, she has short-cropped blonde hair, but it is subsequently discovered that she was wearing a wig, and her real hair is long and vibrantly red. Roberts’ hair is naturally black, so it was dyed red for the film. This created an issue during the well-known bubble bath scene.

A large quantity of detergent was required to fill the bathtub to overflowing with bubbles. The detergent was so powerful that it actually removed the color from Roberts’ hair. To get it back to the red color her character had in the movie, the team had to rush through a dying session late at night.

One of the film’s most memorable scenes was improvised.

One of the most iconic scenes in Pretty Woman is when Edward gifts Vivian with a stunning necklace, only to playfully snap the jewelry box shut as she reaches for it. It was heavily promoted for the movie and often made fun of on shows like Family Guy.

The script did not call for Edward to snap shut the jewelry box. They’d shot a couple takes of Gere just handing the jewelry to Roberts, but Marshall thought it was too dull. When Roberts reached for the jewelry, he grabbed Gere aside and urged him to snap the box shut. Her response in the film is really genuine.

Roberts was nervous about filming a love scene.

Pretty Woman has to have a love scene.Julia Roberts, on the other hand, was quite frightened when it came time to shoot the personal moment with Vivian and Edward.

In fact, she came out in hives because she was so nervous about the love scene between her and her co-star, Richard Gere. Garry Marshall joined the two stars in bed to make her feel more at ease, and she was given calamine lotion to soothe her sensitive skin.