Please Be My Star? Here's The Reason Why Julia Roberts Begged Richard Gere To Be In "Pretty Woman"
LIFESTYLE
Please Be My Star? Here's The Reason Why Julia Roberts Begged Richard Gere To Be In "Pretty Woman"
If you are a fan of 90’s romance, it is likely that “Pretty Woman” tops your list of favorite movies of all time. The film starred Richard Gere and Julia Roberts playing lovers in an unlikely match. Oddly enough, the intention of the film was far from romance.
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Producers originally developed the film as a commentary on sex work and class in Los Angeles. In the end, the chemistry between Gere and Roberts gave the flick a whole new meaning that resonated stronger in the romance department with fans.
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Roberts’ performance was highly praised and she eventually received a Golden Globe nomination and Academy Award nod for Best Actress. Roberts played prostitute Vivian Ward who gets involved with Edward Lewis, a wealthy businessman and later becomes his love interest.
In 2015, the cast and crew came together for their 25th Anniversary in a special moment on the TODAY show. It was the first time the old team got together since the parted ways, some not even coming across one another until the TV reunion.
Roberts revealed in 2017 that finding an actor to play Lewis in the film was quite difficult. She said back then many other actors vied for the role but none seemed to fit. Eventually, she took a trip to New York with director Gary Marshall and got to meet Gere.
She was so taken by Gere’s personality, she literally begged him to take the job and work with her on the movie.
I just said ‘you have to do this movie, if you don’t do this movie and it falls apart and I lose this job it would just be terrible’. And I kinda pleaded with him in a very real way. And all three of us went out to dinner and um, I had a great time and he changed all our lives forever by agreeing to do this movie.
Gere did change all our lives with “Pretty Woman”. And more than two decades after, fans are still clamoring for a sequel or just another film with Gere and Roberts in the leading roles.
Julia Roberts is absolutely stunning and a great actresss!!😍😍😍 Can’t believe ‘pretty woman ‘ is 27 years old! Woww!
— Ukwu_nwerenti (@IphyQ) July 21, 2018
Pretty Woman… Richard Gere, Julia Roberts & A Roxette Classic…the 90’s were life! ❤️
— Paula Bell (@paulabell84) July 21, 2018
There has been a sleuth of romance films released since “Pretty Woman”, but only so many compare to the genius that was Gere and Roberts. And the fact she had to beg him to star beside her does little to diminish the shine.
