Julia Roberts and Garry Marshall Humiliated Christopher Reeve

And then he died.

R1 The audition took place in 1989/1990 and Chris died in 2004.

That seems a bit primadonnaesque? And I like Christopher Reeve.

CR was a primadonna. He turned down EVERYTHING.

Reeve could have played the Gere part OK, but without his Superman cape and tights he was box office poison.

But ya ARE! Ya ARE in that chair, Chris!

I don't blame him. That was shit treatment he received.

That said, you can tell there was a bit of entitlement there on his part too.

[quote] I was no longer an A-list actor; now my agents had to fight for meetings. Sometimes I had to audition, which had not been necessary for over a decade

It's like that scene from Mommie Dearest, where Joan had to actually audition for the part of Mildred Pierce. "Oh, the humanity!"

Marshall probably treated all the actors who auditioned for that part, the same way. However, Reeves wanted SPECIAL treatment.

And when he didn't get it, he pitched a diva fit.

Garry Marshall probably didn't care because I'm sure he wanted Richard Gere, any way.

It's a bit sad how many actors were so horribly typecast that they weren't given any other roles.

Can you imagine Cavill being treated this way today?

Side note - as much as I dislike Julia Roberts, Pretty Woman was her breakout role. She was a B minus list actress and not even the first choice (Molly Ringwald was).

I doubt she would have had the juice to pull that kind of crap.

Also, Gere wasn't exactly a superstar either - while continuing to do a a bunch of movies, he hadn't really had a big movie since An Officer and a Gentleman 8 years earlier, had he?

That's hardly Julia's fault. She wasn't a major star then.

I'm willing to bet Chris did the same thing and skipped reading at auditions with potential castmates when he was an "A-lister."

Is this a bad time to make a Julia Roberts/horse joke?

Neigh, go ahead.

Any time time is a good time to make a Julia Roberts/horse joke.

Reeve would've made an interesting choice. And might've had chemistry with our Julia. But the magic was the magic. No other actors could've made it work. They had the perfect chemistry. Roberts had about 5 years where she just looked remarkable onscreen even in bad movies. She looked marvelous in Sleeping with The Enemy which was an awful film.

Yes Julia looked amazing for about 5 years lol. About 88-93

She still looked good in MBFW. Her skin looked beautiful

Julia Roberts was paid 25 million for Mona Lisa. Still, the highest paycheck ever received by an actress for a movie.

As mentioned by others already prima dona was exactly the term that came to mind reading this. I'm not an actor but even I understand auditions are routinely a humbling experience.

[quote]Julia Roberts was paid 25 million for Mona Lisa. Still, the highest paycheck ever received by an actress for a movie.

I didn't know that. She was lucky to make a mint for such a turkey.

R17 she did. But any good movie star always does. She had marvelous skin there for a couple of years.

R21 she was the biggest star in the world at time. As mentioned before if you didn't live through Julia Roberts rise to to superstardom you don't get why even veterans like Meryl Streep respect her. It was insane. And she like her BFF Brad Pitt says belongs between the two Hepburns. She made women female movie stars possible again. No woman has accomplished what she did.

Reeve played repressed well. He could have pulled off the role.

Brad Pitt has always said Julia belongs between the two Hepburns. But they are also close friends.

I guess Reeves would have been good in the role but Gere was perfect. And Gere was at his peak sexiness in 1990 with Internal Affairs and Pretty Woman. The salt-and-pepper hair looked so good on him.

This movie would never get made today. Yet the movie produced one the biggest movie stars of our generation.

R10 Madonna was actually offered it first when it was called 3000, and met with Garry Marshall, Madonna passed on it

Garry talked about it in his autobiography

When Penny wanted to get in touch with Madonna for A League of Their Own, she called Garry and asked for Madonna’s personal number, which people never do in Hollywood

Those Marshall’s!

She claims. And Madonna til this day loathes Julia Roberts who is connected to every Hollywood big wig you need that Madonna is jealous of. Don't forget "She's the one person almost as famous as me."

No, hon she was more famous than you. And respect with Oscar nominations.

The first time I ever saw a gay kiss in my life was Christopher Reeve kissing Michael Caine in Deathtrap. I remember being completely floored by it because I didn't understand the movie and it just came out of nowhere and I wasn't expecting it. I was a comic geek as a kid so I loved the Superman movie. I still think it is cool that the first gay kiss I ever saw was Superman.

Wasn't the August Osage Country sell was the world's most famous actress and the worlds best actress?

Most people don't understand but Jennifer Lawrence and Julia Roberts are still the world's most famous actresses.

[quote] Brad Pitt has always said Julia belongs between the two Hepburns.

Who are the two Hepburns? Judy and who?

R30 NO ONE was more famous than Madonna on a global level at their peak than Madonna was at her peak and Julia wasn’t even A list back then and Madonna has NEVER talked about Pretty Woman, Garry Marshall himself mentioned this in his autobiography in the mid 90s

Madonna never said shit about PW

[quote]I guess Reeves would have been good in the role but Gere was perfect.

George Reeves died in 1959.

Why would they want a cripple in a wheelchair for that role? Good grief. The cheek.

Yes in 1990 Julia Roberts was more famous than Madonna. And in the later 90s Madonna herself said "she's the one person almost as famous as meme"

Madonna was at her absolute peak in 1990. The year of Vogue, Blond Ambition and Justify My Love.

And so biggest movie star in the world who trumped her. And Madonna knew it The world had their first female movie star decades.. Julia Roberts was the biggest star in the world then. Everyone knew it

Julia was way bigger than Madonna after Pretty Woman. Dream on

R40 You're missing some articles and punctuation in your post, ya stupid cunt. Did you only make it to grade two? Fucktard.

yay sweetie that makes you right!

R38 LOL Julia Roberts was NOT more famous than Madonna in 1990

In 1990 Madonna appeared on more magazine covers in a single year than any person that has ever lived and breathed air in the history of the world

Us, Entertainment Weekly and Forbes magazines all named Madonna “Rhe world’s biggest star” and “Most Powerful Celebrity “

Please note than Madonna met with Marshall for PW in SUMMER OF 1989 as well before Steel Magnolias had opened and Julia was virtually unknown at that time

[quote]It's a bit sad how many actors were so horribly typecast that they weren't given any other roles. Can you imagine Cavill being treated this way today?

He is typecast. He plays nothing but muscle roles with very limited lines.

R19 J Law just got that for Don’t Look Up

R44 oh hun. I lived through those years. Julia was much more beloved after Mar 1990. Your'e an idiot. She quickly became the biggest star in the world.

"She's the one person almost as famous as me."

No one was more famous than Julia Roberts in 1990 you idiot. DUMBASS

Poor Christopher Reeve is ignored even on his own thread.

R47 Julia was more beloved , she was America’s Sweetheart but Madonna was still the bigger star due in part to her controversial/dividing nature

Again, she appeared on more magazine covers in the year 1990 than any living person in the history of the world, that’s FUCKING FAME

And like I said, go back and reread the big media’s year end celebrity/most powerful stars lists and Madonna topped them all in 1990, Us magazine in their December 1990 Celebrity 100 list named Madonna as the #1 most powerful celebrity/biggest star in the world of 1990

Julia was huge too and quickly became the biggest female movie star in the world, I’m not disputing that

No one really respects Madonna. Julia got her 2nd Oscar nomination. that year and was the world"s most beloved star.

1) If Julia Roberts didn't show up, its because she wasn't asked to. She had no power. 2) Garry Marshall attended the audition so that's about as much respect as you can get. 3) As someone who read the 3000 script out of curiosity, I get why everyone would turn it down. It's awful to read and the characters are disgusting. Its not surprising that Molly Ringwald didn't want to play a dirty crack whore. 4) Jason Alexander tells a story about how he was cast in the film and makes it clear, the entire thing was in Garry Marshall's head but nobody else knew what the hell was going on. The script wasn't followed, nor was it rewritten much--large amounts of improv occurred. The movie you see never existed on a page before it hit the screen, which is rare because studios like scripts so they know what they're paying for. Richard Gere warned Jason Alexander the production was totally off the rails and thought Pretty Woman might end up unreleasable.

How does a whore like Julia Roberts get to be America's Sweetheart?

[quote]How does a whore like Julia Roberts get to be America's Sweetheart?

That's what I'd like to know.

R53 yet from that script that looks awful we got one of he 10 female movie stars of al time

Pretty Woman inspired me to get into street level prostitution. Until I saw the movie I didn't realize how romantic it was...And Julia not kissing her johns?...So spot on!!. The movie really captured the essence of hookers and their boundries!!

Reeve makes Richard Gere look like fucking Olivier. That’s all.

[quote] No one was more famous than Julia Roberts in 1990 you idiot. DUMBASS

In the US, maybe. But Madonna was known the world over. People in all countries knew who she was.

There was nothing prima donna about Reeve's angry reaction to how Marshall treated him. Forcing him to audition with an assistant who is not even trying to act is unprofessional and sleazy. If Roberts was unavailable, Marshall could have brought in an actor who was free.

I have the impression Marshall went through with the reading more or less unwillingly, possibly to appease someone important. He had no intention of considering Reeve for the role and didn't even pretend to be interested or generous about it.

And Hollywood has had plenty of criticism of Garry Marshal as a human being and none of Reeve. He was well-liked.

Further, there is nothing wrong in turning down roles for one reason or another, even if you do it often. Reeve had no idea that, after he his big start in movies, he would lose his appeal. That often happens to people whose rise seems easy and grand. As it was, he took on a role in Somewhere In Time, a soap opera that did his career no good, and it must have made him wary.

When you consider how terrible an end he came to, and how bravely he tried to stand up to it, it seems crummy to jump on him now. It's a tragic story.

I realized the last performance I enjoyed Roberts in was "Closer," (2004). I skipped all the Oceans movies, "Eat, Pray, Love" and saw the hamfest that was "Osage County," which I regret. Nothing could get me to see her now,.

in 1990 no. Not even Madonna. Julia Roberts was the biggest star in the world 2 weeks after Pretty Woman opened. And her life was never gonna be the same again

I watched Julia's first role and definitely thought she was no big deal. I've never changed my mind

These Madonna boys are weird. No dudes. No way no how. There was no bigger celebrity in the world in 1990 than Julia Roberts. Pretty Woman was a phenomenon.

Didn’t even Oliver Stone famously say in 1991 that the reason he wouldn’t cast Madonna as Evita, he was attached to direct, was because she was too famous and more famous than Eva Peron ever was and on every magazine cover in the world and she would overshadow the film and he called Madonna “the most famous woman in the world”

Madonna could never accept that Julia was a bigger start than her.

Reeve was good in Noises Off. (Likewise Carol Burnett who made you believe in her character almost immediately)

"She's the one person almost as famous as me"

[quote] in 1990 no. Not even Madonna. Julia Roberts was the biggest star in the world 2 weeks after Pretty Woman opened.

People in other countries wouldn’t know who Julia Roberts was 2 weeks after opening. In 1990, people in Asia didn’t know who Julia Roberts was but they sure knew who Madonna was. People in Africa didn’t know who Julia Roberts was but they knew Madonna.

Diana was probably at least as famous as both.

Bullshit. Maybe in the fucking world you live in. In America Julia Roberts was the biggest star America the weekend Pretty Woman opened.

"She's the one person almost as famous as me"

i don't particularly like Julia. But I get why other actors fawn over her. She's a legend. She did accomplish big things

[quote]In 1990 Madonna appeared on more magazine covers in a single year than any person that has ever lived and breathed air in the history of the world

And now she's a tubby old has-been trussed up like an octogenarian Mae West in leather, and hanging out for ugly trash to stick their dick in her. Time is a cruel bitch.

[quote] In America Julia Roberts was the biggest star America the weekend Pretty Woman opened.

Yeah, in America, not the world. The rest of the world didn’t know who she was.

Reeve had gotten some good notices in the past with Deathtrap and a few other movies, and in 1990 was just starting to get some critical notice again, at that time for the "Rose and the Jackal" made-for-TV movie, back when Ted Turner was starting to invest in prestige TV/cable films.

I've always felt that the critical turn in 1990 helped him get Remains of the Day a couple of years later, but despite more good notices, he kept getting passed over for roles. It's not surprising since he was so heavily associated with Superman, but I think he could have had a much different career if he'd been given a chance.

R70 absolutely

There’s an interview with Madonna from 1992 on YouTube and the interviewer says “You’re one of the three most famous women in the world, the other two probably being Princess Diana and Liz Taylor and then for a fourth it would be Jackie O, is your incredible fame something you think about a lot?”

Madonna just shrugged her shoulders and said, “I don’t think about it at all, I turn down almost all interview requests and in my 10 year career I think I’ve only done a total of 5 talk show appearances, I turn everything down, I can’t help it if the world is obsessed with my every move”

Julia Roberts wasn’t even mentioned

After Pretty Woman I really ever saw Madonna as bigger than Julia Roberts . I don't think anyone in Hollywood did.

R74 and Julia Roberts is currently in a worse position than her, what’s your point?

Both are legends

Madonna can do a greatest hits tour next year and break box office records

R77 keep going. Anyone knows Julia Roberts was the biggest star of the 90s

R78 Jesus Christ, no one is talking about movie star wise, Julia Roberts was definitely the biggest female movie star of the 90s, we’re talking about worldwide fame and Madonna was Elvis compared to Julia’s Brando

R79 really sweetie?

No one can ever really explain to me what Julia Roberts accomplished that any number of other popular actresses didn't.

She became a phenomenon in the early 1990s but then was in a series of terrible movies and blew that opportunity quickly, then got an Oscar for a biopic after lots of PR push.

She's got a LOT of movies like I Love Trouble and Dying Young and Mona Lisa Smile under her belt, and not a lot of big hits. Pretty Woman, Brockovich, the Oceans movies I guess, and supporting in ensemble casts of Steel Magnolias and August Osage County. That's it, right?

Yet she is still America's favorite actress

Julia Roberts is almost forgotten these days. No one under thirty knows who she is. Madge is still BIG.

Bullshit I have nieces and nephews at that younger age. They don't care about her but they look at her as we do a Natalie Wood. A movie star. But they think she's a legend type

Madonna was so famous by 1990 than when she FINALLY agreed to do the Arsenio Hall Show, magazine ads and billboards across the country were released with Arsenio standing in front of a picture of Madonna and announcing her appearance as “the world’s biggest star” “making an unheard of talk show appearance “. And “it’s a TV event” . Has Julia ever had that much hype for a dime a dozen talks show appearance?

r56 i think you missed the point. The character in the script was not charming. She was more like Laura San Giacomo's character (or might have been spun off into that role, I can't remember). I think the end finds Edward kicking her out of the limo and she's back to being a crack whore. The script was a template of a story and Garry Marshall envisioned a fairy tale version without ever putting that version on the page.

Yes. In 1990 she was bigger than Madonna and even she knew it. No one was bigger than Julia Roberts in 1990.

R89 in the movie world, yes Julia was the biggest but overall global fame?

Madonna, MJ, Princess Di say hi

You queens are weird. Yes Madonna was a huge star. When Julia Roberts became a star Madonna was not in the conversation

After Pretty Woman Julia was more famous than Princess Diana. Yes Easy! For like a year? Yes!

R91 you’re not making any sense

Julia became huge in 1990, 1990 was Madonna’s biggest year and part of her overall peak of 89-92, non stop media dominance and overexposed

I don't know why every Julia Roberts thread turns into this.

Roberts and Madonna weren't competitors, they were in different mediums. This is a pointless argument.

Everyone knows Julia was the biggest star in 1990. When Pretty Woman hit. She was the biggest star in the world

Hasn't Brad Pitt always claimed his bestie belongs between the two Hepburns as THE greats?

Even by DL standards this is a stupid thread.

Dumb bitchez arguing over the star wattage of Madonna vs Julia Roberts.

In a thread that is supposed to be about Christopher Reeve.

[quote]"She's the one person almost as famous as me."

You've posted this six times over the course of two hours. Enough.

OP,

I'm glad you're enjoying your Christopher Reeves' biography, but you are somewhat late to the party.

Geeze.

ok hon. It doesn't make Madonna any less insecure

I always thought Madonna was trash and Julia lucky.

Julia Roberts > Madonna, always and forever.

It's kinda fun they loathe each other. but don't bring up Sandra Bullock to the queen bitch

The way I remember that year as an eldergay. No one had ever seen a phenomenon like Julia Roberts. And we all watched it. And went to the movies for whatever reason that stupid movie did oi everyone. The movie is dreadful if you rewatch it. But she looks fabulous.

In retrospect the universal success of PW is baffling. She was a prostitute! But the only risk to her was falling in love, not getting beaten, raped, robbed, exploited.

as mentioned before it was meant to be an adult fairy tale. Its just she was kinda cute that the mainstream clung on to it. And I'm sorry she just looked fabulous shopping on Rodeo. It was like a frau dream

I don't understand why a right cunt is not a DL fave. The gays love larger than life movie stars

I don't get actors who are pissy about having to audition. He didn't get the role, and so the director obviously didn't think he was right for the role. Auditioning at least gave him a fighting chance, as opposed to not being allowed to audition. It seems his assumption was that if he had not had to audition, he would have been awarded the role based on prior work, eliminating Gere and all other actors from consideration.

R33 = Jennifer Lawrence

Yeah, I get it. It’s just such a ridiculous premise for the feel good movie of the year.

I’ve got a great pitch for you! It’s a rom com, two people from different worlds fall in love. He’s a corporate big wig. What is she? A maid? A nursery school teacher? A single mom down on her luck? No, no, she’s a whore. Literally. She gets paid for sex. It’s how they meet! Audiences will love it!

Look, instead of fighting over Madonna and Julia Roberts, can we all just agree there is no bigger star today than Christie Metz? I defy Julia or Madge to get on a scale to prove they are bigger than Christie. She would have totally nailed the role of Vivian....BTW, has anyone else noticed how Christie rests her arms on her giant waist? It creeps me out.

I see people like Chrissy and it gives me a false sense of security that they are alive and walking around despite the abuse to their bodies.

Going after Metz makes you people stereotypical shallow, mean bitches, who you can be sure are no prizes yourselves.

Madonna was a global star. Julia was a big star in the US but you cannot compare Madonna, with her international touring and global stardom to a US movie star.

R113 = This must be your first time on DL....I don't think you are going to be able to handle it......LoL

Sometimes you don’t get the part but you have to shake it off and get right back on that horse.

Maybe I’m misremembering but I didn’t think Richard Gere was even the first choice for lead in Pretty Woman. I thought a lot of the top actors at the time turned it down due to the subject matter. Gere wasn’t exactly A-list at the time himself, coming off a string of flops after his early 80s success. It doesn’t really make sense that Marshall would be so dismissive of Reeve.

Sorry, this sounds more like he was a diva who was shitty to a casting director.

Pretty Woman is a godawful movie. Yuck.

I liked the part of Pretty Woman where AIDS and Street Prostitution didn't seem to co-exist...It was a beautiful love story and since the Hooker offered the John a condom nobody could catch anything at all.

[quote]Yes Julia looked amazing for about 5 years lol. About 88-93

Which is quite a feat in itself given the hard living she was doing during that timespan. Chasing the dragon around '91-'92, when she did Hook and dumped Kiefer Sutherland for druggie Jason Patric.

Reeve was great in Switching Channels with Kathleen Turner and Burt Reynolds. It was a huge flop, Turner and Reynolds hated each other, but Reeve was very funny in the movie. It's a shame he didn't get to do more comedy because he had terrific comic timing.

Wasn't Reeve notoriously difficult to work with? One of his costars from Superman 2 (the dumb villain in black) had such a bad experience working with him on that movie that he still bitches about him today.

[quote]As it was, he took on a role in Somewhere In Time, a soap opera that did his career no good, and it must have made him wary.

"Somewhere in Time" now has a very devoted cult following. Its soundtrack was John Barry's best-selling film score.

[quote]Wasn't Reeve notoriously difficult to work with?

I worked on the movie of "Deathtrap" and was there for the entire shoot. Both Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve couldn't have been easier or more professional to work with. Dyan Cannon on the other hand . . .

Ooh please share stories, r125! I love that movie. I loved the house interiors though I suppose they were just sets.

Stockard Channing brings Rizzo to the Lois Lane audition @ 15:20. Pretty funny. I think Stockard would have been too distracting knowing she would have worn Superman's manhood down to a nub! She would have shimmied on Superman's pipe all night long.

[quote]Ooh please share stories, R125! I love that movie. I loved the house interiors though I suppose they were just sets.

Just one large breakaway set, designed by Tony Walton (Julie Andrews' ex-husband). Except for a few exteriors shot at a house on Long Island and some interiors at the Music Box Theatre (where the play "Deathtrap" was still running as the movie was being shot), the eight-week shoot took place entirely in the former Pathe studio in Manhattan.

Thank you, r125. Any truth to the stories that Caine and Reeve had to be drunk in order to film the kissing scene? They don’t look drunk at all in the scene and in hindsight it sounds like something they claimed more to appease homophobic critics of the day.

No truth at all, R125. A normal shooting day like any other. I was standing right behind the camera when that scene was shot. They had a job to do and they did it, quickly and professionally, and then on to the next scene. I think they did it pretty much in one take, and then they did an alternative take (to be inserted when the movie was shown on TV) that eliminated the actual kiss. The director, Sidney Lumet, was known for running a very tight ship and brooking no nonsense from actors. He often brought movies in ahead of schedule. Even "Deathtrap," which was a relatively quick shoot, came in a bit ahead of schedule.

What a bullshit story (about them having to get drunk), but I guess it was entertaining fodder for the gossip columns and the people who believed what they read in the gossip columns.

I had the same driver he used whenever he wss in London. The driver told me he hated to see the guy in such bad shape after his riding accident, but Reeves was the biggest prick customer he ever had I believe the driver

Thank you, r130. I think Caine himself told the story on Carson or something but maybe it was a PR move when there was backlash over the kiss and the movie tanked. Caine never struck me as one to be squeamish about anything like that. I noticed the “we had to get drunk to power through the kiss” was a standard story actors told in the 90s-2000s when gay roles were becoming more common. Thankfully actors today seem to have moved past that nonsense

R132, Heath Ledger was one of the first actors to be a grown up about it, when he was questioned about Brokeback Mountain. He said something like, "you just remember that it's another human being, and you get on with it."

This is tough--Reeve was certainly a big enough star that Roberts should have read with him, but who knows the real story. Reading with casting directors is tough. Judy Bowman's assistant once typed on her computer through my entire audition! Ugh.

Charles Grodin was the first choice for Pretty Woman. I think Reeve would've been a very interesting choice.

The poster is what pushed the movie. And it's not even Julia's body. Her face is photoshopped onto Shelley Michelle.

I agree that Madonna was the most famous in world at time . And that still did not make the hollow narcissist happy.

Fuck off, narcissism troll. No suck thing exists.

R60, Christopher Reeve was conceited beyond belief. Watch any of his appearances on Carson, etc., back before his accident and he acts as if the world revolves around him. All because of 'Superman'.

No doubt he wasn't considered because by 1989-1990 it was clear he was NOT the star he believed himself to be. Proven by the fact that all his films, with the exception of Superman 1 and 2, were box office disasters.

Chris Reeve was very good looking

Wow. That was profound R140. I don't think anyone knew that.

[quote]Charles Grodin was the first choice for Pretty Woman.

🤔

You know what was weird? That picture Switching Channels. The male leads were Burt Reynolds and Chris Reeve. It was circa 1990, and to my mind, both of them were firmly B list by that time. However, the female was someone who was still A list, Kathleen Turner! She must have had an awful agent, because it made her look like she was slumming. Sure enough, she eventually joined Burt and Reeve on the B list, though Reeve got hurt, and Burt had slipped down to C list.

Small correction Switching Channels was 1988, and Turner was coming off Jewel of the Nile, War of the Roses, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Burt and Chris had had a string of flops and had been voted box office poison by theater owners.

R139 Superman III did well too, IV flopped however

UGH. I don't even care about this discussion BUT there was NOBODY bigger than Madonna in1990 except for MAYBE MJ. But she also gets credit for being extremely famous the decade before. So the 90s was a continuum of her fame. No contest here.

Silly rabbits

Yeah Madonna was bigger. She was at her apex. Literally everywhere.

[quote] BUT there was NOBODY bigger than Madonna in1990 except for MAYBE MJ.

No, Julia Roberts was bigger than both of them. No one in the world was more famous than Julie Roberts after Pretty Woman came out.

Maybe, just MAYBE start a Pretty Woman thread.

Never mind...I guess this is it.

Jennifer Lawrence got $25 million USE for her role in Netflix film “Don’t Look Up”.

Sandra Bullock received only five million USD less ($20 million) for ""The Los City of D"

R149, BIG mistake. Huge!

I always thought Madonna was trash and Julia lucky.

agreed

I forgot who said that Reeve was such a cunt that he deserved what happened to him. Someone famous, not on DL.

How would Christopher Reeve get down the fire escape in the last scene in his wheelchair?

An usher, Rose!

R153, absolutely rubbish! No one deserves that . If Chris was an asshole, he certainly redeemed himself after the horrid accident . He did so much for spinal cord research.

He was never an A-list actor, he just had a popular superhero series.

R19 Excuse me! Did you forget We're the Millers? $26M plus $5M back end!

Get the attitude on Miss Reeve!

My guess is the idiot pushing the "Julia Roberts was bigger than Madonna" bullshit is Jabba. Jabba hates Madonna because Madonna puts Janet to shame in every way, shape and form. But then again, any singer does.

[quote] Small correction Switching Channels was 1988, and Turner was coming off Jewel of the Nile, War of the Roses, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Burt and Chris had had a string of flops and had been voted box office poison by theater owners.

No, Turner was coming off of Peggy Sue Got Married, a minor hit. And she had another film, Julia & Julia, which opened at the same time as Switching Channels and bombed even worse, both critically and financially. Roger Rabbit didn't open until later in the year, and War of the Roses was more than 18 months away from release. Both films (and a cast against type role in The Accidental Tourist) actually brought her back to the A list for a (very) brief time, but she blew it with crap like V.I. Warshawski, House of Cards and Undercover Blues, which was her last lead in a feature film outside of Serial Mom.

Reed was too clean cut and tall for the role. Gere can portray sleaze with ease. Can't imagine Reeve engaging a street walker? and yes, I saw Street Smart.

Ripping the script in half was diva-ish, but I can see why Reeves was upset. Agree that it was probably not Julia Roberts' decision to read (or not) with Reeves.

I do think Richard Gere was replaceable. He's very wooden, IMO. Reeves maybe could have done it. Who knows.

Julia was essential to the huge success of PW, though.

Christopher Reeve in Pretty Woman? What could have been.

I think Richard Gere is daddy-ish and sexy in Pretty Woman and I cant imagine Reeve being either of those things

The chemistry between Gere and Roberts is what makes the film work, although Roberts rise to stardom was another factor. But they really make the film work with their easy-going chemistry.

Watching it 30 years later,some aspects have not aged well, but their chemistry is still very strong and the film is still entertaining because of it.

R143 I was actually always very curious about that too so you’re not wrong at all - it was on cable all the time in the early 90s and I always wondered what a rising A lister was doing in a movie with two actors who were basically complete jokes by that point (I actually assumed it must have been a movie “made for cable” - clearly it barely had a release). In any event, she clearly did not have a very good agent at the time.

Burt wasn’t bad (he can sleepwalk/wisecrack his way through movies like that) but Reeves was just terrible. I think Turner was pregnant while filming.

Julia Roberts was nowhere close to being "Julia Roberts" at the time. Why wouldn't he get to read?

It sounds like Grodin testing for the role helped Marshall to work out the characters:

"Director Garry Marshall encouraged Grodin to improvise during the screen-test opposite Julia Roberts, who was wearing a very skimpy outfit. They eventually decided that the part of Edward Lewis should be played straight while Julia Roberts character became the funny one."

Once Roberts was cast, Marshall edged the film toward comedy, which created another issue. Roberts had limited experience with comedy, and wasn’t finding the right tone in early readings.

One improbable screen test helped her find the funny.

“I said, ‘Julia, I’m going to bring in an actor who is much, much funnier than you. He’s going to improvise, so try to stay with him,’ ” Marshall told the New York Times in 2000. “The actor was Charles Grodin. Suddenly, she had that championship spirit.”

Great story. I always found Roberts very adept at comedy. She was a great damsel in distress but she was always a fine comedic actress.

Christopher Reeves was almost worshiped after Superman. He was a super hero in many people's minds after the first 2 Superman movies he did. It went straight to his head. The way he was treated, like royalty and as if he could do no wrong, when he was young, handsome, and rich did a number on him. It's shocking how quickly his celebrity cooled, way before his unfortunate accident. He was still young and attractive and couldn't get another hit to rival Superman. It must have done a number on him to go from hot to not in the box office. Also, it's strange because at the time it seemed like audiences couldn't get enough of him. Did he never find the right role after Superman or was Superman the only great role he could play? Hard to say.

[quote] Roberts had limited experience with comedy, and wasn’t finding the right tone in early readings.

Then they should’ve fired her ass and found someone who could do comedy.

Also, there was something very wooden, old fashioned, and gallant about Christopher Reeve, even when at his most charming. It's hard to say if that kind of wooden gallantry would have struck the right tone in a comedy about a hooker.

R125 and R126, the house used in the exterior is one of my favorite shingle-style houses, the DeRose Mansion, built in 1885. The windmill element was essentially a decorative folly. It is now owned by Robert Downey Jr.

Can we get back to discussing Christopher Reeve's humiliation?

Roberts wasn't available. Given the context, this was unlikely to be her pulling rank.

The Director was present. It sounds as if Reeve was not given a very enthusiastic reception, but it was hardly humiliating.

Christopher Reeve exuded asexuality.

As far as whores go, this Julia person wasn’t all that believable.

Yet another elder here to attest that Madonna was a bigger star in the world than Julia in 1990.

WTF?

Several B list actors have auditioned the same way,sometimes with directors telling them to not act, just read what is in the script page the same way a high-schooler would read a text.

It seems like he blew an opportunity for things not going exactly as he had pictured them.

In the US, we're lucky in that at least we have access to hooded Mexican meat.

[quote]Can you imagine Cavill being treated this way today?

Yes.

[quote]Is this a bad time to make a Julia Roberts/horse joke?

how ironic. Horse used to be a term for heroin.

About 2 years after filming Pretty Woman, Julia had to go to rehab and get help for her heroin addiction. She was a junky whore

[quote] NO ONE was more famous than Madonna on a global level at their peak than Madonna was at her peak

Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Elvis and Princess Diana are the only people I'd say were more famous.

[quote]Madonna can do a greatest hits tour next year and break box office records

And likely break a hip, too!

I’m surprised Reeve agreed to audition at all. And his community theatre reference shows what a cunt he must have been. He wasn’t exactly a great actor.

Frankly, I don't think this story makes him look good at all.

R188 why??

Julia Roberts had two big career peaks, the first being in the late 80s-early 90s (Mystic Pizza-The Pelican Brief) and the second being in the late 90s-early 00s (My Best Friend's Wedding-Ocean's 11). She's been coasting on the fame and success she garnered from those two career peaks ever since.

In 1990 Madonna had already been around for 7 years and was already in icon territory. You couldn't really compare the two as everyone already knew who Madonna was at that point and most people were just waking up to Julia Roberts. No one could have predicted that Pretty Woman would have been the huge success that it was and the star that it would turn Julia into. Granted, she had just come off Steel Magnolias where she got a BSA nomination, but she was the lone relative unknown in that cast. It's kind of like how Jennifer Lawrence got awards recognition for Winter's Bone, but didn't become a huge star until The Hunger Games and Silver Linings Playbook.

The irony is that Julia's films that immediately succeeded Pretty Women involved pretty dark and bleak subject matters (Flatliners, Sleeping with the Enemy, Dying Young), but the success of Pretty Woman and her star wattage sustained her in those early years until the mid-90s when she seemed to recede in popularity with poor film choices and a lower profile.

I'd say Robert has played the game very well.

I know Madonna is MADONNA. But for a year or two in the early 90's Julia was the biggest star in the world. There was no way around it. Madonna also didn't take too kind to "the movie star" showing her up at her own premiere. By all accounts both the press and the crowd were more interested in Julia Roberts than they were in Madonna"s awful movie.

It would’ve been weird to have that role played by a guy in a wheelchair.

I've seen a lot of movies, but I've never seen PW. I don't like Julia Roberts and Richard Gere is never believable or interesting in anything. And the subject matter sounds like Disney's "Prostitution Cinderella".

I never heard anywhere that Christopher Reeves was a "prick" or "conceited" or hard to work with or anything like that until AFTER he was dead. Which makes the accusations rather suspect. And I never heard any gay rumors about him except on Datalounge.

Don’t BE ridiculous! NO ONE has ever been as big, well known and famous as Madonna.

Oh hun, if Madonna in all her highness, ever took the time to say someone was "almost" as famous as her. It means they were. And she was well aware. "I know who you are."

R193 Agreed. How would he have gotten up the fire escape with his chair?