'Pretty Woman' could've been 'pretty dark'

Richard Gere and Julia Roberts-starrer "Pretty Woman", the 1990 iconic film, not only had a hard time getting made, but it was almost an entirely different and a "pretty dark" movie.

"I can't tell you how much time was spent debating," former Disney studio head Jeffrey Katzenberg said at a question and answer session earlier this week, reports pagesix.com.

He added: "As a script, 'Pretty Woman' was an R-rated movie about a hooker on Hollywood Boulevard. By the way, in the original version -- it's pretty dark -- I think she died of an overdose."

"So convincing (people) that we should make that at the Walt Disney Co, and that it's a fairy tale and a princess movie, a lot of people had a hard time seeing it. But, as they say, the rest is history."

The Garry Marshall directorial tells the story of a man -- in a legal business -- who needs an escort for some social events. He hires a prostitute and they ultimately fall in love with each other.

--IANS

nn/rb