Julia Roberts discusses the much darker ending of Pretty Woman... which Patricia Arquette originally auditioned for
Long before Pretty Woman became an instant classic that made Julia Roberts a household name, the original incarnation of the script by J.F. Lawton was called 3,000, and it was much, much darker.
Roberts was interviewed by Escape at Dannemora star Patricia Arquette for Variety, who revealed that one of her first Hollywood auditions was for 3,000, long before it was re-worked into the 1990 Garry Marshall classic Pretty Woman.
The tone of the original Lawton script as a whole was much darker, but particularly the ending, which Roberts described as, 'Threw her out of the car, threw the money on top of her, as memory serves, and just drove away, leaving her in some dirty alley.'
Darker ending: Long before Pretty Woman became an instant classic that made Julia Roberts a household name, the original incarnation of the script by J.F. Lawton was called 3,000, and it was much, much darker
Roberts, 51, said that she got the part in 3,000, adding that she loved that Arquette, 51, asked that question, adding she, 'had no business being in a movie like that.'
'This small movie company folded over the weekend, and by Monday, I didn’t have a job,' Roberts added about how the movie fell apart over a weekend.
Share this article
She added that there was one producer who 'stuck with it' and the movie ultimately ended up at Disney, which, at the time were largely known for their animated fare.
Pretty Woman: Roberts, 51, said that she got the part in 3,000, adding that she loved that Arquette, 51, asked that question, adding she, 'had no business being in a movie like that'
'I thought, "Went to Disney? Are they going to animate it?"' Roberts joked, before adding how 3,000 turned into Pretty Woman.
'(Director) Garry Marshall came on, and because he’s a great human being, he felt it would only be fair to meet me, since I had this job for three days and lost it,' she said.
'And they changed the whole thing. And it became more something that is in my wheelhouse,' Roberts said.
Animated: 'I thought, "Went to Disney? Are they going to animate it?"' Roberts joked, before adding how 3,000 turned into Pretty Woman
While the original script was overhauled quite a bit, Lawton remained the sole writer on Pretty Woman, detailing what happened to his much darker script in an interview Vanity Fair in 2015.
The original script ends with Vivan (Roberts) and her best friend Kit (Laura San Giacomo) on a bus to Disneyland for a trip financed by her week with Edward (Richard Gere), with Vivian looking, 'utterly blank.'
Lawton maintained there was always a debate about the ending, and the script was ultimately picked up by the company Roberts mentioned, Vestron, but once that folded, the rights were 'upgraded' to Disney.
Original ending: The original script ends with Vivan (Roberts) and her best friend Kit (Laura San Giacomo) on a bus to Disneyland for a trip financed by her week with Edward (Richard Gere), with Vivian looking, 'utterly blank'
Thankfully, the studio sparked to the 3,000 script in an effort to keep director Garry Marshall at the studio, who was looking for something darker, and after two rewrites, Lawton turned 3,000 into Pretty Woman.
Pretty Woman grossed $178.4 million in 1990, the fourth highest grossing film of the year and the top-grossing R-rated movie.
It also earned an additional $285 million internationally for a global total of $463.4 million worldwide, from just a $14 million budget.
Lawton would go on to write Under Siege, Chain Reaction and he also created the TV series V.I.P.
Big hit: Pretty Woman grossed $178.4 million in 1990, the fourth highest grossing film of the year and the top-grossing R-rated movie
Household name: It also earned an additional $285 million internationally for a global total of $463.4 million worldwide, from just a $14 million budget
