Michael Jackson paid $1.54million at a Sotheby's auction to own the Best Film Oscar awarded to the producer of Gone with the Wind, David O. Selznick, five times the estimate. According to the auction house, Jackson had had a “lifelong desire” to own it.

The film of Gone with the Wind tops the list of British box-offcie hits, having been seen by 35 million people at the cinema and many more at home on television, video and DVD. (BFI Research, 2004.)

Margaret Mitchell's house in Atlanta is a museum dedicated to Gone with the Wind, visited by 45,000 people a year.

The one-man show Gone with the Wind in 20 Minutes has been performed by Doug Lothes for more than 25 years. He staged it for cast members on the 50th anniversary of the film's release.

Lady Antonia Fraser was approached by the Mitchell estate and asked to write a sequel to Gone with the Wind. She declined.

Melly Meadows, from Georgia, has made a career as a Scarlett O'Hara lookalike, for clients including MGM films.

The book, the film and now the musical... directed by the veteran Trevor Nunn, Gone With The Wind the Musical opens at the New London Theatre in April 2008.

The heroes of Gone with the Wind have been immortalised as cocktails:

The Rhett Butler

2 oz. Southern Comfort
0.5 oz. lime juice
1 tsp. curacao
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. sugar syrup

Mix in a shaker with ice and serve in a chilled cocktail glass.

The Scarlett O'Hara

1.5 oz. Southern Comfort
1.5 oz. cranberry juice
1 oz. lime juice

Combine ingredients in a glass with ice.

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