A Pretty girl Reunion, Ben Affleck’s cool Feet and a $17 Million Payday: 20 Secrets About Runaway Bride Revealed

by Tierney Bricker | Tue., Jul. 30, 2019 3:00 AM

It had been the film 10 years within the making—in more ways than one.

Nine years after Pretty girl made Julia Roberts a star and turned Richard Gere into certainly one of Hollywood’s many sought-after leading men, the iconic on-screen set finally reunited in Runaway Bride.

Released on July 30, 1999, Roberts and Gere again teamed up making use of their Pretty Woman manager Garry Marshall, whom passed on in 2016, for the romantic-comedy about a little city woman therefore afraid of dedication that she actually is dashed through the altar 3 times as well as the jaded divorced newsprint columnist determined to see her run for the time that is fourth. Obviously, they fall in love.

Fans sprinted to your movie movie movie theater to begin to see the set’s chemistry, making Runaway Bride, which was indeed in the works for over ten years with several other superstars connected to star sooner or later, a larger blockbuster hit than Pretty girl, that was released in 1990.

But simply it was more successful, as Runaway Bride failed to captivate critics (earning just a 46 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and even had one of its stars later admitting it just didn’t capture the magic of their previous film because it made more money than Pretty Woman doesn’t mean. (Plus, one of Roberts’ other iconic rom-coms—Notting Hill—came https://ukrainian-wife.net out just weeks before.)

Nevertheless, because of Roberts and Gere’s effortless charm and charisma—both independently and combined—and Marshall’s knack for the genre, Runaway Bride has guaranteed an area as you of Hollywood’s many suffering romantic comedies, whether or not it absolutely was rarely made together with a different ending at one point.

Through the A-listers which were initially expected to star within the movie in 1991 to Roberts’ very own experience being a runaway bride, listed here are 20 fun facts you will possibly not find out about Runaway Bride.

1. Although the concept seemed tailor-made for Gere and Roberts to own their Pretty Woman followup, Runaway Bride was really within the works for over 10 years, with numerous other famous actors set to try out the fighting bride-to-be (times four) and cynical journalist.

First up? In 1992, Geena Davis and Harrison Ford had been set to lead the film, nonetheless it dropped aside if the director that is first in had difficulties with the script. Within the next years that are few movie stars like Michael Douglas, Demi Moore, Ellen DeGeneres and Mel Gibson had been all into the mix.

2. However in 1996, Sandra Bullock had been enthusiastic about playing Maggie and urged the task ahead. Until she then had some hesitations–much like Maggie along with her suitors–and had been away, with Ben Affleck and Tea Leoni in speaks to take control, utilizing the studio liking the basic notion of a more youthful couple. But once Affleck passed, among the producers chose to approach Gere.

3. Before he signed on to play Ike: “when you can get Julia, i am in. while he liked the script, Gere had one condition the studio needed to satisfy” Roberts, that has initially been not sure for the film whenever she read a past form of the script years prior, chose to take another appearance. And following a telephone call along with her old Pretty girl main character, the film stars had been prepared to reunite.

“People have now been hoping to get them right straight back together for nine years,” studio producer Tom Rosenberg told The Los Angeles occasions. “And abruptly it happened—it ended up being all settled in per week.”

4. The next telephone call had been one Gere and Roberts would need to make together, because they had to pursue their Pretty Woman manager to really make the reunion formally complete by directing their love tale once more. There is one hitch however, as Marshall had guaranteed to just just take their wife to Australia for the much-needed getaway.

“They said, ‘Get off the telephone, we should speak to your spouse,” Marshall recalled to your book. “They informed her such things as, ‘ exactly How many times do we get a chance to do this?’ and, ‘We’ll just just simply take care that is good of,’ therefore finally I stated, ‘OK, we’ll get it done.'”

5. The trio’s provided history made shooting Runaway Bride a fairly experience that is stress-free the trio, with Marshall noting a change in their main character, now armed with ten years of expertise on sets along with stardom.

“Richard was indeed extremely careful on Pretty girl, but this time around he had been far more prepared to be funny,” the manager stated. “Mostly we talked within our very own small shorthand. All I experienced to accomplish ended up being yell ‘Action’ and ‘Shut up.'”

6. The movie’s budget soared to $70 million, an unusually high number for a romantic comedy after getting A-listers Roberts and Gere on board. As well as gross that is back-end the movie, Roberts received $17 million on her behalf dashes through the altar, while Gere pocketed $12 million. The movie stars shown worthy of the big paydays, as Runaway Bride started at number 1 during the package workplace, attracting a week-end total of around $35 million, definitely the opening that is best ever for a Roberts film at that time.

7. While Runaway Bride went on to gross over $150 million domestically (and $300 million around the world), being a blockbuster hit, it received not as much as stellar reviews, with Gere later on searching straight straight back regarding the film in a job interview with Entertainment Weekly and admitting, “Whatever that miracle was at the very first film, you cannot make that take place. While there is some stuff that is wonderful the movie, it really did not have the secret regarding the very very first one. The expectation it was planning to have that exact same variety of delicious secret had been irresponsible. It had been an unusual film, it had been yet another time, she was in an alternate destination, I happened to be in a unique destination.”

8. Manufacturing descended upon the tiny city of Berlin, Md., making it the fictional and quirky Hale, Md. for the film, and place near to $1 million to the regional economy, upped the true property market and very nearly doubling tourism following the movie’s launch.

“We have been completely astonished,” Berlin’s then Chamber president told The Baltimore Sun of this effect the film had around town of simply 3,000 individuals. “the film ended up being the Midas touch that introduced our city to numerous individuals. It place us from the map.”

9. As soon as known as “America’s Coolest Small Town” by Budget Travel, hosting the Roberts-Gere automobile continues to be a spot of pride for Berlin, aided by the city holding a Runaway Bride month in August to commemorate the twentieth anniversary.

“People appear in and so they would you like to hear, ‘Hey did you will get to meet up with Richard Gere? What’s Julia Roberts like? Can the house is seen by us? Where had been the bridal shop?'” Ivy Wells, Economic and Community developing Director of Berlin, stated. “We thought guess what happens, we are going to supply the individuals what they need and so they desire to commemorate the film therefore we are likely to take action up for the twentieth anniversary.”