Editing Pretty Woman (section)

=== Casting === 
The casting of the film was a rather lengthy process. Marshall had initially considered [[Christopher Reeve]], [[Daniel Day-Lewis]], [[Kevin Kline]], and [[Denzel Washington]] for the role of Edward, and [[Albert Brooks]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 30, 2011 |title=The Lost Roles of Albert Brooks |url=https://www.vulture.com/2011/06/the-lost-roles-of-albert-brooks.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210704080548/https://www.vulture.com/amp/2011/06/the-lost-roles-of-albert-brooks.html |archive-date=July 4, 2021 |access-date=June 15, 2021 |website=[[Vulture (website)|Vulture]]}}</ref> [[Sylvester Stallone]], [[Christopher Lambert]], [[Al Pacino]] and [[Burt Reynolds]] turned it down.<ref>{{cite web |title=Burt Reynolds Reflects on the Roles He's Turned Down |last=Schaffstall |first=Katherine |date=March 16, 2018 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/burt-reynolds-reflects-roles-hes-turned-down-1095043/ |work=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=April 13, 2023}}</ref><ref name=Collider>{{Cite web|url=https://collider.com/galleries/pretty-woman-behind-the-scenes-facts/|title=Surprising Behind-the-Scenes Facts about Pretty Woman|first=Tom|last=Reimann|date=April 25, 2019|website=Collider|access-date=January 2, 2023|archive-date=January 2, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102063114/https://collider.com/galleries/pretty-woman-behind-the-scenes-facts/|url-status=live}}</ref> Pacino went as far as doing a casting reading with Roberts before rejecting the part.<ref>{{cite interview |first= Al |last= Pacino |subject-link= Al Pacino |date= June 15, 2007 |url= http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0706/15/lkl.01.html |title= ''"Al Pacino Interview"'' |interviewer= [[Larry King]] |work= [[Larry King Live]] |publisher= [[CNN]] |access-date= June 16, 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070621070302/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0706/15/lkl.01.html |archive-date= June 21, 2007 |url-status= live }}</ref> [[Sam Neill]], [[Tom Conti]] and [[Charles Grodin]] tested for the part along with Roberts.<ref name="Lorraine">{{Cite web |last=LoBianco |first=Lorraine |date=December 1, 2010 |title=Pretty Woman |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/19475/pretty-woman#articles-reviews?articleId=359271 |access-date=2024-11-02 |website=Turner Classic Movies |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170615111534/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/19475/Pretty-Woman/articles.html |archive-date=June 15, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-03-23 |title="Pretty Woman" turns 25: Go behind the scenes with 21-year-old Julia Roberts |website=CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pretty-woman-turns-25-go-behind-the-scenes-with-21-year-old-julia-roberts/ |access-date=2023-08-04 |language=en-US}}</ref> Gere initially refused but when he met with Roberts, she persuaded him and he eventually agreed to play Lewis.<ref>{{cite web |date=March 24, 2015 |title='Pretty Woman' Cast Reunites 25 Years Later |website=TODAY.com |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ub6BdLFWyg |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116022214/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ub6BdLFWyg |archive-date=November 16, 2017 |access-date=September 10, 2017 |via=YouTube}}</ref> He reportedly started off much more active in his role; but Garry Marshall took him aside and said "No, no, no, Richard. In this movie, one of you moves and one of you does not. Guess which one you are?"<ref>{{cite book|last=Tiffin|first=George|title=A Star is Born: The Moment an Actress becomes an Icon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OZeQCgAAQBAJ|year=2015|publisher=Head of Zeus|isbn=978-1-78185-936-0|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=OZeQCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT493 493]}}</ref>

Roberts was not the first choice for the role of Vivian, and was not wanted by Disney. Many other actresses were considered. Marshall originally envisioned [[Karen Allen]] for the role; when she declined, auditions went to many better-known actresses of the time including [[Molly Ringwald]],<ref name=LATimes>{{cite news |last= Corcoran |first= Monica |url= https://latimes.com/features/lifestyle/la-ig-molly29-2008jun29,0,7763315.story |title= Molly Ringwald: Pretty in Pucci |work= [[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date= January 8, 2013 |date= June 28, 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090308044451/http://www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/la-ig-molly29-2008jun29,0,7763315.story |archive-date= March 8, 2009 |url-status= live}}</ref> who turned it down as she felt "there was something icky" about the story.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ringwald |first=Molly |date=April 26, 2012 |title=I am Molly Ringwald. AMA |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/ssoxc/comment/c4gnk8j/?context=3 |access-date=2023-04-13 |website=Reddit |quote=I think I saw an early draft and it was called "$3,000." I don't specifically remember turning it down. The script was okay but I gotta say, Julia Roberts is what makes that movie. It was her part. Every actor hopes for a part that lets them shine like that.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/apr/24/i-was-projected-as-the-sweet-american-girl-next-door-it-wasnt-me-molly-ringwald-bites-back | title='I was projected as the sweet American girl next door. It wasn't me': Molly Ringwald bites back | newspaper=The Guardian | date=April 24, 2023 | last1=Williams | first1=Zoe }}</ref> [[Winona Ryder]] auditioned, but was turned down because Marshall thought she was "too young".<ref name=Collider/> [[Jennifer Connelly]] was also dismissed for the same reason.<ref name="dvd" /> [[Emily Lloyd]] turned it down as it conflicted with her shooting for the film ''[[Mermaids (1990 film)|Mermaids]]''.<ref name=yahoo>{{cite web|url=https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/emily-lloyd-the-unluckiest-actress-in-hollywood-113758144.html|title=Emily Lloyd: The Unluckiest Actress In Hollywood History?|work=[[Yahoo! Movies]]|last=Arnold|first=Ben|date=July 27, 2016|access-date=December 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519134831/https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/emily-lloyd-the-unluckiest-actress-in-hollywood-113758144.html|archive-date=May 19, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Drew Barrymore]], [[Patricia Arquette]], [[Brooke Shields]], [[Uma Thurman]], and [[Kristin Davis]] also auditioned for the role of Vivian.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Burton |first=Lynsi |date=March 18, 2015 |title='Pretty Woman': 25 years later |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/entertainment/movies/slideshow/Pretty-Woman-25-years-later-105532/photo-7670983.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905211621/https://www.seattlepi.com/entertainment/movies/slideshow/Pretty-Woman-25-years-later-105532/photo-7670983.php |archive-date=September 5, 2021 |access-date=September 5, 2021 |website=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://variety.com/2019/tv/features/patricia-arquette-julia-roberts-escape-at-dannemora-the-act-homecoming-1203231800/ | title=Julia Roberts and Patricia Arquette on Thriving in Hollywood as 'Rad 51-Year-Old' Women | date=June 4, 2019 |website=Variety}}</ref> [[Meg Ryan]], who was the studio and Marshall's top choice, also turned it down.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.eonline.com/news/1133589/it-d-be-a-big-mistake-to-not-check-out-these-30-pretty-woman-secrets-huge | title=It'd be a Big Mistake to Not Check Out These 30 ''Pretty Woman'' Secrets⁠—Huge! |website=E! Online |date=August 31, 2022}}</ref> According to a note written by Marshall, [[Mary Steenburgen]] was also among the first choices. [[Diane Lane]] came very close to being cast (the script was much darker at the time); they had gone as far as costume fittings, but due to scheduling conflicts she could not accept. [[Michelle Pfeiffer]] turned the role down, saying she did not like the script's "tone."<ref name="Daryl Hannah">{{cite web |date=2007-02-27 |title=Darly Hannah Pleased to Decline Pretty Woman |url=http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/hannah%20pleased%20to%20decline%20pretty%20woman%20offer_1023365 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013202701/http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/hannah%20pleased%20to%20decline%20pretty%20woman%20offer_1023365 |archive-date=October 13, 2007 |access-date=August 20, 2007 |website=[[World Entertainment News Network|WENN]] |via=Contact Music}}</ref> [[Daryl Hannah]] was considered but believed the role was "degrading to women".<ref name="Daryl Hannah"/> [[Valeria Golino]] was not selected because of her thick Italian accent,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jang |first=Meena |date=2016-05-16 |title=1989: When Valeria Golino Was Indie Royalty in Cannes |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/1989-valeria-golino-was-indie-894394/ |access-date=2023-04-13 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US |quote=My accent was charming, but when it came to be between Julia Roberts and me, she was American.}}</ref> and [[Jennifer Jason Leigh]] had auditioned.<ref>{{cite journal |date= December 4, 2005 |first= Boris |last= Kachka |title= Lone Star: Jennifer Jason Leigh Plays an Extroverted Striver in Abigail's Party, Now, that's a stretch |url= http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/theater/15247/ |page= 2 |journal= New York Magazine |access-date= September 29, 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121016061522/http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/theater/15247/ |archive-date= October 16, 2012 |url-status= live}}</ref> [[Lea Thompson]] unsuccessfully auditioned for the role as she thought the film was a drama.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WKOof2WPJ7o |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/WKOof2WPJ7o| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title = Lea Thompson's Disastrous "Pretty Woman" Audition - "Late Night with Conan O'Brien"|website=[[YouTube]] |date=May 10, 2021 }}{{cbignore}}</ref>

After all the other actresses turned down the role, 21-year-old Roberts, a relative unknown with only the sleeper hit ''[[Mystic Pizza]]'' (1988) and the yet-to-be-released ''[[Steel Magnolias]]'' (1989), for which she would be nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]], won the role of Vivian. J.{{nbsp}}F.{{nbsp}}Lawton, writer of the original screenplay, has suggested that the film was ultimately given a happy ending because of the chemistry of Gere and Roberts.<ref name="VF" />

Veteran actor [[Ralph Bellamy]], who plays James Morse, appears in his final acting performance before his death in 1991. [[Jason Alexander]], who had also recently been cast for his role as the bumbling [[George Costanza]] in ''[[Seinfeld]]'', was cast as Philip Stuckey.