MovieChat Forums > Scarlett (1994) Discussion > What about a Prequel?

What about a Prequel?

posted 17 years ago by roberttheman2008
7 replies | jump to latest

What about a Prequel to Gone With the Wind? Cause I'd like to hear more about Gerald O' Hara(Scarlett's father) and see the moment in this card game when the dead to the plantation was laid on the table and Gerald won the hand. She what caused him to leave Iraland and set sale to America. Plus his relationship with the Hameltons at the Twelve Oaks plantation before it was burnned down in Gone With the Wind.

How many of you believe that this story would be worth it?

[–] furienna 17 years ago

It sounds good to me.

Yes, it's true! IMDB has reached Sweden!

[–] gemini5291-1 17 years ago

And how about what happened to Ellen? That always intrigued me. When Scarlett returned home to Tara and Dilcey told her that Ellen died calling Philippe Robillard's name I really hoped that they would be more explicit about what actually happened between them. They spent a good chapter in GWTW explaining Gerald's background but they glossed over Ellen - "rich Savannah girl," "coastal bred aristrocrat," "wild, black-eyed cousin," "died in a barroom brawl" but they never really delved into that romance or explained why the family didn't like him.

[–] roberttheman2008 17 years ago

Maybe if a Prequel was to be written, the younger Ellen could be portraid as being pretty much like Scarlett when she was her Age at the Beginning of GWTW. Maybe the Prequel won't make any mention of the "Butler Family" but Philippe could be revealed as an old flame of Ellen's back in her younger days. I think if the prequel is ever done, one thing we should see is a 5 year old Scarlett because her tragic daughter Bonnie GWTW was portaid in both the film and the novel.

Maybe if the Prequel is ever written it could be titled "Gerald" or "Rise of Tara" or "Gerald's Land". Maybe Gerald's Land would be the best title because of this speach he gives Scarlett at the beginning of GWTW about how valueble land really is. Even as we strow away from GWTW completely in the Superman films the first one and the most recent Superman Returns, Lex Luthor is saying "The one thing that people will always need is land, and they will pay throw the nose to get it."

If the Executor's of Margett Michelle's estate are looking at authors to write a prequel to GWTW, who will they pick? Charles Fraizer? The guy who wrote Cold Mountain?

[–] centericecat65 16 years ago

I am not sure that GWTW needs a prequel. I have read GWTW more times than I can count. I have seen the movie just as many times.

I have read any number of books, both fiction and non-fiction, about the South and that time period and Margaret Mitchell got the tone and timbre of the time period just right. If memory serves me correctly, Ms. Mitchell patterned Scarlett after her own grandmother. In the spirit of the times, one would know all of the back story only by being intimately involved in it. Certain things were just not made available for public consumption. Besides, it leaves an air of mystery that makes one keep coming back to the story and keep reading it to see if there is something that was missed.

Besides, hasn't it been said that the audience should always be left wanting something more?

[–] roberttheman2008 16 years ago

Well, over half a century passed between when GWTW was first published then SCARLETT. One thing I do find instresting is that when Mitchell was writing GWTW, Scarlett wasn't called Scarlett. Her name was Pansy or Pansey, but that name was used for a charater SCARLETT.

Maybe if Gerald's back story is worth telling then maybe we can wait just as long, or maybe even longer to read it but whether or not it would be filmed like the other two is a big "what if?" because when the film rights for both books where purchased, they both set records for "Highest amount ever paid for a screen rights for a novel" Think about another movie, the original Basic Instict, the guy who wrote that script also set a record for "Highest ever paid to buy a script" and that dude wrote Flashdance to.

Just like some of you, I saw Scarlett on DVD but it was designed to be a sequel to the film version of GWTW. If GWTW was to be re-made it could be more faithful to the novel now we can say, see, and do more on film. The ratings system wasn't around back in 1939 so Rrett's famous last words "Frackly my dear I don't give a dam*." was almost deleted plus like what they did for those Lord of the Rings movies, when the DVD release came along they released extended versions. Same could be done with a GWTW remake but whoever did something like that would have their hands full but we might be reading about Gerald before we read anymore about Scarlett.

[–] oharaprincess 16 years ago

they are bringing out a prequel for rhett butlers story line. i read that a few months back.

[–] hey_teacher 16 years ago

Yes, the book is called Rhett Butler's People. It came out last year - November if I remember correctly.

I bought the book. It's not bad reading - the story really centers around Rhett's sister Rosemary. However, if you know GWTW like I do, meaning you can recite it chapter and verse, don't buy RBP. The author literally re-invents the wheel when it comes to Rhett and Scarlett. He creates events that never happened and re-writes the ones that did. What he did to the character of Melanie Wilkes would be laughable if it wasn't such a total disgrace.