 The movie was originally entitled "Pearl", which was a biographical  movie based on Janis Joplin (qv)s life. When approached with the  script for "Pearl", Bette Midler (qv) believed it was too soon  after Joplins death to portray her life in a movie. Rewrites were  then made, with Midlers guidance, that deleted some portions of the  original script and embellished other parts of the story. Then the  rewritten script was named "The Rose" and Bette Midler agreed to the  lead role.