Pretty Woman uncomfortable playing a sex worker. Winona Ryder auditioned, but was turned down because Marshall felt she was "too young". Jennifer Connelly was also dismissed for the same reason. Emily Lloyd turned it down as it conflicted with her shooting for the film "Mermaids". Meg Ryan, who was a top choice of Marshall's, turned it down as well. According to a note written by Marshall, Mary Steenburgen was also among the first choices. Diane Lane came very close to being cast (the script was much darker at the time); they had gone as far as costume fittings, but due to scheduling
Mermaids of Tiburon his speargun, the mermaids lure him into a narrow underwater fissure. As he chases after them, Sangster's oxygen supply runs out, and stuck inside the fissure, he is left trapped mere inches from the water's surface and drowns. Jamison makes it to safety with the mermaids' help, who thereupon vanish. His world view enlightened by this strange encounter, Jamison departs as the mermaids watch, promising himself to return one day. The film incorporates some archival footage from Marineland. When the film's first screening failed to garner attention at the box office, Lamb decided to shoot and add retroactively produced footage,