Recasting Roberts
Can you imagine the beautiful, red-headed Vivian being played by any other actress than Julia Roberts? We know we can’t. Roberts was originally cast as the enchanting Vivian but was forced to step out of the role when the movie rights were handed over to Disney. This change in executive decisions almost changed movie history if it hadn’t been for Gary Marshall, the famous movie director for Pretty Woman.
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Marshall was put in charge of the movie when Disney took over, and he insisted that they revert back to the original cast. He especially wanted the character of Vivian to be played by Roberts because he saw something striking and star-like in her that he knew would make the movie a big hit.