On December 10, 1938, shooting began on Gone With The Wind with the Burning of Atlanta scene, although no one had been cast to play the role of Scarlett. That night, David Selznicks brother, Myron, came onto the set escorted by a strikingly beautiful and mysterious woman. That woman was Vivien Leigh and her entrance was no accident. She had come to Hollywood from England ostensibly to be with Laurence Olivier, one of Myrons clients, who she would marry a year and a half later. She had also come to Hollywood to pursue the part of Scarlett. Although both Selznicks might have heard about Leigh, David O. Selznick had never met her. Selznick began serious consideration of Leigh the following Monday morning. Call sheets record that her screen tests were made on December 21 and 22. She signed her contract on January 16, 1939, and principal photography began on January 26. The casting choice was controversial. In response to widespread protests that someone other than a Southern woman had been chosen, Selznicks publicity department, headed by Russell Birdwell, went to work to persuade the public that Leigh was right for the part. He wrote numerous letters to gossip columnists and crafted a biography of Vivien Leigh distributed to magazines and newspapers in justification of the casting decision. This life-sized portrait of Scarlett O’Hara hung on the wall in Rhett Butler’s bedroom in the film. Here David O. Selznick is under Scarlets life size portrait.
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 08:45:31 +0000
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