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Richard Gere unearthed some feelings regarding his hit 1990 movie "Pretty Woman." The actor, who stars in the film alongside Julia Roberts, said during a masterclass during the 81st Venice Film Festival that they had "no chemistry." The actor's remarks should not be taken literally, as he was being sarcastic during the conversation about his role as wealthy businessman Edward and Robert's character, Vivian.
"This actor and this actress obviously had no chemistry between them," Gere joked. "I haven't seen that in a long time. That's a sexy scene."
Dissecting an iconic scene
Richard recalled how they came up with the iconic piano scene. "Garry said to me, 'What do you do late at night in a hotel?' And I said, 'Well, I'm usually jet-lagged,'" the actor explained. "So, I'm up all night, and usually there's a ballroom somewhere or a bar, and I'll find a piano, and I'll play the piano'."
"So we just basically improvised this scene," he added. "I just started playing something moody, and that was this character's interior life."
Richard Gere's character
Gere said his role was "criminally underwritten," adding, "It was basically a suit and a good haircut." Despite the minimalistic approach of the movie, the actor was surprised at how successful the film would become. "This is a movie, a very small movie with a wonderful director named Garry Marshall," Gere said. "But we were having fun making this little tiny movie. We didn't know if anyone would ever see this little, tiny movie. No one would ever pay attention to this little, tiny movie."
As Julia's character says in the movie, "Big mistake!" The romantic comedy is one of the top box office films and a beloved cult classic. The original concept for the film "Pretty Woman" was a dark cautionary tale about class and sex work in Los Angeles, but it was later changed to a romantic comedy with a substantial budget. While the movie received mixed reviews from critics, Julia Roberts' performance was widely praised.
"Pretty Woman" achieved the highest ticket sales for a romantic comedy in the US. Box Office Mojo listed it as the number-one romantic comedy with the highest estimated domestic ticket sales. The film grossed an impressive US$463.4 million worldwide and was the fifth-highest-grossing film of all time at its release. Notably, it was the highest-grossing R-rated film released by Walt Disney Studios until it was surpassed by "Deadpool & Wolverine" in 2024.
Julia Roberts' role in "Pretty Woman" propelled her to superstardom, earning her the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. She also received her first nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress and the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. The film itself also received nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Film and the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy.