David O. Selznick bought the rights to the best-selling novel for $50,000. Louis B. Mayer, Selznick's father-in-law and head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, was determined to make "Gone with the Wind" as an MGM film. He initially offered to buy Selznick out at a handsome profit. Warner Bros. offered Bette Davis, Errol Flynn and advantageous financing. Selznick's own distributor, United Artists, showed interest in providing a production financing package. None of them, however, had an actor capable of portraying Rhett Butler, except MGM, which offered a deal that included Clark Gable. After much vacillating on Selznick's part, a deal was struck with MGM on January 19, 1938, that gave Selznick Gable and $1.25 million toward production costs, in return for Selznick giving MGM the distribution rights and 50% of the profits, which were further reduced by Loew's Inc.'s 15% interest and a requirement to pay Gable's $4,500-weekly salary and one-third of Gable's $50,000 loan-out bonus. "Gone with the Wind" was, of course, a box-office triumph, grossing over $20 million during its initial release alone. Selznick eventually earned $4 million on the picture. Unfortunately, a few years later, he sold his rights to John Hay Whitney for a paltry $400,000 to keep his independent production company afloat. Whitney later sold the rights back to MGM for $2.4 million.

Film

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