Israeli PM's link with Pretty Woman

Julia Roberts owes Olmert a lot for her meteoric rise to stardom. Check why...

Pretty Woman, the film that brought Julia Roberts her breakthrough as an actress, owes its name to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

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Olmert suggested the name while visiting his friend and movie producer Arnon Milchan in Hollywood in 1989, a media report said on Thursday.

The name was suggested after the two listened to the sound track of the film with director Gary Marshall at a Warner Brothers' sound studio.

While they were nearly half-an-hour into the sound track, an old song by Roy Orbison called Pretty Woman started playing, which made the Israeli leader to intervene and come out with his suggestion, Ynetnews reported.

Olmert opened his eyes and told Milchan and Marshall, "Listen, I have an idea for you. Why don't you call the movie Pretty Woman after the song," the report said.

"Forget it," Marshall replied, "it's too kitschy."

Milchan also had his doubts but the veteran Israeli politician convinced the two that his idea was not so bad.

The rest is history with Pretty Woman grossing $463 million across the world and paving Roberts' meteoric rise to stardom.

Richard Gere's faltering career also got a major boost after the success of the film, in which he played the hero.