With talented writers and well-crafted screenplays, I was able to ‘up my game’ and begin producing with and for major studios. One of the keys to playing in that arena is to forge relationships with bigger name actors and their agents, managers, attorneys, publicists… anyone close enough that you can get them to read and attach to your project.

I found Julia Roberts by attending a pre-release screening of “Mystic Pizza”. By merely accepting an invitation from the producers of that indie film, I struck gold and they were kind enough to introduce me to Julia and her agent. Not long after, she’d attached to ‘Pretty Woman’, then titled ‘3000’. Not yet a household name, but my instincts nonetheless screamed this actress was destined to be ‘Vivian’ – the lead in our film.

I’d sold ‘Under Siege’ as a script to New Regency who, at the time, had a deal at Warner Bros. Knowing the studio had just signed a deal with a then up-and-coming Steven Seagal (after his success with smaller films like ‘Hard to Kill’ and ‘Above the Law’ etc), I encouraged everyone to get the script into his hands as his first project with the studio. And it worked. Sometimes an actor responds well, other times you have to be persistent beyond reason.

Richard Gere loved the storyline and lead role in ‘The Mothman Prophecies’, and tracked the project for months even reading various drafts as we were developing it. Securing Richard as our lead in ‘Pretty Woman’ was quite a different experience.

Richard Gere had turned down the role of ‘Edward’ in ‘Pretty Woman’ on multiple occasions. Ed Limato, Richard’s agent for many years, responded enthusiastically to the project. Despite his support, Richard first declined the project when I’d originally optioned it to Vestrong, and again later when I’d moved the project from Vestron and set it up at New Regency.

After I’d submitted and ultimately sold the script to Touchstone (Disney), and now had a major studio and director on board, I was able to convince the studio executives (along with the film’s director, Garry Marshall) that Richard Gere was the absolute best choice for the male lead role and to make him an irresistable offer. And the rest, as they say, is history.

The lesson learned is simple: trust your instincts and then just become single-focused in your determination and advocacy and pursuit.