Movies
Michelle Pfeiffer And Al Pacino Were Considered For Pretty Woman Instead Of Julia Roberts And Richard Gere
By Charisse Van Horn
Feb 24, 2020 9:31 AM
Source: Scarface/Universal Pictures
Pretty Woman was a huge success and Julia Roberts won the best actress Golden Globe for her role as the rescued prostitute Vivian Ward. Richard Gere played emotionally distant playboy Edward Lewis who found his love and life’s passion after picking up Vivian for a night of relaxation and accompaniment. The movie, though centered on an adult subject, went on to become a fairytale classic. No one can imagine anyone else playing these characters, but according to a new report in People magazine, for their upcoming March 2, 2020, issue, the roles could have been given to Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino. At the time (Pretty Woman was released on March 25, 1990 and is turning 30-years-old) Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer had starred in multiple, successful movies together such as Scarface and Frankie and Johnny.
The idea of Al Pacino as Edward Lewis and Michelle Pfeiffer as Vivian Ward conjures up a different movie entirely. Where Julia and Robert had easy chemistry and gave the movie a true romantic comedy vibe, one can’t help but wonder how many dark undertones Pretty Woman would have had with Pacino at the helm.
It’s safe to say that the late Garry Marshall cast the movie correctly with Julia and Robert. The People article also indicated that Richard wasn’t initially on board with the project and it took Julia’s coaxing and begging to get him to sign on.
People revealed several startling facts about Pretty Woman in honor of the movie’s 30th anniversary. First, the movie had a budget of $14 million and grossed more than $463 million worldwide. In the opera scene, Vivian and Edward arrived late. This was actually done to the film’s short budget. Instead of filming an opera scene with many extras in the lobby, Garry Marshall had the pair arrive late so they would make the film’s budget!
Julia Roberts previously revealed that the movie was going to have a dark ending — one where Edward was going to return Julia to the streets where she would remain a prostitute, as reported by Rachelle Lewis. Could you imagine Pretty Woman with Vivian back on the streets?
Can you imagine Pretty Woman without Julia Roberts and Richard Gere? How do you think the movie would have been with Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer?