Taglines: She walked off the street, into his life and stole his heart.
Pretty Woman movie storyline. Young prostitute Vivian Ward dreams of a knight-like man who will rescue her. In an unexpected event, she meets handsome billionaire Edward Lewis, who’s lost his way while driving his friend’s sports car. She asked if he wants a date, but he asked her for the direction to his hotel instead.
For $20, Vivian drives him to his hotel. As Edward is about to enter the hotel, he looks back. Seeing her sitting at the corner, he suddenly finds her beauty hard to let her go and asks her to accompany him to his penthouse suite. That night, they get acquainted and make love.
The next morning, Edward surprises her with a lucrative business proposal: be with him for the next seven days. Delighted, Vivian accepts. Being with Edward for the whole week changes Vivian’s world, far from her regular work as a Hollywood Boulevard prostitute. Though knowing professionals should never fall in love, each begins to question this rule.
Pretty Woman is a 1990 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall, from a screenplay by J. F. Lawton. The film stars Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, and features Héctor Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy (in his final performance), Laura San Giacomo, and Jason Alexander in supporting roles.
The film’s story centers on Hollywood prostitute Vivian Ward and wealthy businessman Edward Lewis. Vivian is hired to be Edward’s escort for several business and social functions, and their relationship develops during her week-long stay with him. The film’s title Pretty Woman is based on the 1964 song “Oh, Pretty Woman” by Roy Orbison. The original screenplay was titled “3,000”, and was written by then-struggling screenwriter J. F. Lawton. It is the first film on-screen collaboration between Gere and Roberts; their second film, Runaway Bride, was released in 1999.
Originally intended to be a dark cautionary tale about class and prostitution in Los Angeles, the film was re-conceived as a romantic comedy with a large budget. The film received positive reviews, and Roberts received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance, which catapulted her to superstardom.
In addition, screenwriter J. F. Lawton was nominated for a Writers Guild Award and a BAFTA Award. The film saw the highest number of ticket sales in the US ever for a romantic comedy, with Box Office Mojo listing it as the number-one romantic comedy by the highest estimated domestic tickets sold at 42,176,400, slightly ahead of My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) at 41,419,500 tickets.
The film grossed US$463.4 million worldwide and at the time of its release, was the fourth-highest-grossing film of all time worldwide, behind only E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ($619 million at the time), Star Wars ($530 million at the time) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ($474 million at the time).
Originally intended to be a dark cautionary tale about class and sex work in Los Angeles, the film was reconceived as a romantic comedy with a large budget. It was widely successful at the box office and became one of the highest-grossing films of 1990. The film is one of the most popular films of all time; it saw the highest number of ticket sales in the US ever for a romantic comedy,[2] with Box Office Mojo listing it as the #1 romantic comedy by the highest estimated domestic tickets sold at 42,176,400, slightly ahead of My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) at 41,419,500 tickets.
The film received positive reviews, with Roberts’s performance being praised, for which she received a Golden Globe Award and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In addition, screenwriter J. F. Lawton was nominated for a Writers Guild Award and a BAFTA Award.
The film’s budget was substantial, at $14 million, so producers could shoot in many locations. Most filming took place in Los Angeles, California, specifically in Beverly Hills, and inside soundstages at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. The escargot restaurant the “Voltaire” was shot at the restaurant “Rex,” now called “Cicada”.
Scenes set in the Beverly Wilshire Hotel lobby were shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Filming commenced on July 24, 1989, but was immediately plagued by problems. These included Ferrari and Porsche declining the product placement opportunity for the car Edward drove, neither firm wishing to be associated with sex workers. Lotus Cars saw the placement value, and supplied a Silver 1989.5 Esprit SE (which was later sold).
Shooting was a generally pleasant, easy-going experience, as the budget was broad and the shooting schedule was not tight.[4] While shooting the scene where Vivian is lying down on the floor of Edward’s penthouse, watching reruns of I Love Lucy, Garry Marshall had to tickle Roberts’ feet (out of camera range) to get her to laugh. The scene in which Gere playfully snaps the lid of a jewelry case on her fingers was improvised, and her surprised laugh was genuine. The red dress Vivian wears to the opera has been listed among the most unforgettable dresses of all time.
During the scene in which Roberts sings along to Prince in the bathtub, sliding down and dunking her head under the bubbles, she came up and opened her eyes to find everyone gone except the cameraman, who got the shot. And in the love scene, she got so nervous that a vein visibly popped out on her forehead and had to be massaged by Marshall and Gere. She also developed a case of hives, and calamine lotion was used to clear them until shooting could resume. The filming was completed on October 18.
Pretty Woman (1990)
Directed by: Garry Marshall
Starring: Richard Gere, Julia Roberts, Jason Alexander, Ralph Bellamy, Laura San Giacomo, Amy Yasbeck, Hector Elizondo, Elinor Donahue, Judith Baldwin
Screenplay by: J. F. Lawton
Production Design by: Albert Brenner
Cinematography by: Charles Minsky
Film Editing by: Raja Gosnell, Priscilla Nedd-Friendly
Costume Design by: Marilyn Vance
Set Decoration by: Garrett Lewis
Art Direction by: David M. Haber
Music by: James Newton Howard
MPAA Rating: R for sexuality and some language.
Distributed by: Buena Vista Pictures
Release Date: March 23, 1990
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