A Post-it note was key to the making of ‘Pretty Woman’.
The iconic romantic comedy starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts is currently celebrating its 25th anniversary, but the 65-year-old actor – who played businessman Edward Lewis – has revealed he was initially reluctant to star in the film because he disliked the original script, which was a cautionary tale about class and prostitution in Los Angeles.
Asked why he initially declined the offer to appear in the movie, Gere told the ‘Today’ show: "Well, there wasn’t a part. There was just nothing. The joke was [it was just] a suit.
"You could put a suit on a goat and put it out there, and it would work."
However, the acclaimed actor had a change of heart during a phone conversation with director Garry Marshall, who was willing him to accept the role in the reworked film, which had by then evolved into a romantic comedy with a large budget.
The phone conversation was overheard by Gere’s future co-star Julia Roberts – who played the part of Vivian Ward – and she passed a Post-it note to him.
Gere explained: "She turns it around and she pushed it to me, and it said, ‘Please say yes!’"