Production
Paul Schrader first conceived of the idea for the film while teaching screenwriting at UCLA's film and television department. The script was one of five screenplays Schrader wrote in 1976. Schrader commented, "The character in 'Taxi Driver' was compulsively nonsexual. The character in 'American Gigolo' is compulsively sexual. He is a man who receives his identity by giving sexual pleasure but has no concept of receiving sexual pleasure."
John Travolta was originally attached to the lead role, with his casting announced by the Los Angeles Times in January 1978. Travolta was provided a wardrobe by Giorgio Armani and appeared in a photo spread for the trade publication Variety announcing his participation. The following year, Travolta dropped out of the production to deal with his mother's death and father's illness.
In Travolta's absence, Barry Diller of Paramount Pictures offered the part of Julian Kay to Christopher Reeve, but Reeve turned down the million-dollar offer. Chevy Chase was also offered the role but declined. Schrader offered the part to his first choice, Richard Gere, who accepted. Gere was cast two weeks before shooting began. In 2012, Gere said he was drawn to the role partly because of its gay subtext, commenting,
I read it and I thought, 'This is a character I don't know very well. I don't own a suit. He speaks languages; I don't speak any languages. There's kind of a gay thing that's flirting through it and I didn't know the gay community at all.' I wanted to immerse myself in all of that and I had literally two weeks. So I just dove in.
This is not the only role Travolta turned down only to be taken by Gere: it had happened with Days of Heaven (1978) and occurred again when Travolta was offered the lead in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) and Chicago (2002). Gere's brief nude scenes marked the first time a major Hollywood actor was frontally nude in a film. According to Gere, the nudity was not in the original script.
It was just in the natural process of making the movie. I certainly felt vulnerable, but I think it's different for men than women.
Julie Christie was originally cast in the role of Michelle Stratton but her departure was precipitated by Gere's replacement of Travolta. By the time Gere was cast, Lauren Hutton had already been hired. Meryl Streep was also offered the part of Michelle but declined because she did not like the tone of the film. Glenn Close also auditioned for a role when Travolta was still attached.
Schrader called Pickpocket (1959) by the French director Robert Bresson an influence on the film; the composition of the final shot pays homage to that film, as does the final dialogue. Schrader later provided an introduction to the Criterion Collection DVD of Pickpocket. On the film's ending, Schrader writes: "At the end of American Gigolo, I wanted to perversely plunge my lizardy protagonist into icy Bressonian waters, so I lifted the ending of Pickpocket and gave it to Julian Kay. A grace note as unwarranted as Christ's promise to the thief on the cross". Schrader re-visited many of the themes of American Gigolo in his 2007 film The Walker and says the idea for that film came about while wondering what would have become of the Julian Kay character.
During the filming of American Gigolo, screenwriter and director Paul Schrader made Richard Gere watch several films with Alain Delon to be inspired by his composition: "I screened Purple Noon for Richard Gere before American Gigolo. I said, "Look at this guy. The way he walks. He knows that the room is a better place because he has just entered it". In addition, Richard Gere cites the French actor as a source of inspiration: "It was by watching Alain Delon's films that I learned to play the seducers on screen. Alain Delon really inspired me to play those kinds of characters ".
The film is widely credited to have established the Giorgio Armani brand in Hollywood because the Italian designer's clothes are featured prominently in Julian Kay's wardrobe. When Gere replaced Travolta as Julian, the designer's team had to make new clothing for him as Travolta is 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) tall, a few inches taller than Gere.
Filming began on February 13, 1979, and lasted until April 1979.
