Pretty Woman had a big budget, especially for a romantic comedy. This allowed the production to film in various locations, in upscale places around Los Angeles. They filmed scenes that were supposedly at the Beverly Wilshire hotel, but the actual shooting was done at the Los Angeles Ambassador Hotel.
If you ever find time to roam around Los Angeles, try going to Cicada, where Vivian and Edward dated and relive the show.
Inspired by an Opera
One can say that "Pretty Woman" is loosely based on an opera by Giuseppe Verdi titled La Traviata. Edward and Vivian went to the Italian Opera, whose story revolves around a man who falls for a young and lovely courtesan. Their story unravels somehow similarly to the film, except that it ends in tragedy.
Violetta, the courtesan, dies from tuberculosis. Unlike Edward, the young man is left in anguish at the end of the story.
Sunday Shopping
As you know, many of the film's scenes were filmed on Beverly Hill's famous Rodeo Drive. However, the only inconvenience was that all of these scenes had to be filmed on Sundays since the municipality has very strict rules on filming in that particular street.
It is strictly forbidden to film during the week since these are prime business hours, and the city ensures nothing affects the local business owner's profits.
Christopher Reeve, Denzel Washington, and Daniel Day-Lewis Almost Played Edward Lewis
Regardless of knowing it's all staged and there are real people behind our favorite screen characters, we still get attached to their on-screen personas. Can you imagine the business tycoon Edward Lewis being played by anyone other than Richard Gere? Neither can we. But the fact is, many other brilliant actors were considered for the role, such as Denzel Washington, Christopher Reeve, and Daniel Day-Lewis.
Any of these three actors would have undoubtedly, done a phenomenal job at playing Edward Lewis. However, we'd rather remember Denzel Washington as the compassionate lawyer from "Philadelphia," Christopher Reeve as the legendary Superman, and Daniel Day-Lewis as the one and only Daniel Plainview in "There Will Be Blood."
The Cinderella Complex
Some people classify "Pretty Woman" as a Cinderella Complex film. The famous website Box Office Mojo, which tracks box office revenue for Hollywood's biggest films, places "Pretty Woman" in this category. Which, as the name clearly suggests, means it tries to be a modern-day version of the much fantasized Cinderella story (the poor girl that falls in love with a prince and all of her dreams come true).
This Cinderella Complex genre also features films like "The Devil Wears Prada," "She's All That," and "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." But Pretty Woman is listed as the second highest-grossing film in the category.