- Write. Then rewrite. Margaret Mitchell wrote Gone with the Wind between 1926 and 1929. In her early drafts, the main character was named "Pansy O'Hara" and the O'Hara plantation we know as Tara was called "Fountenoy Hall."
- "Red" Butler? The character of Rhett Butler was partially inspired by Mitchell's husband, nicknamed "Red", to whom she had a short and passionate marriage.
- Lost in the Breeze. A few of Margaret Mitchell's working titles for the novel included "Tomorrow is Another Day," "Not in Our Stars," "Bugles Sang True," and "Tote the Weary Load."
- Zelda on my mind. F. Scott Fitzgerald was asked to write for the film, but none of his work remains.
- The wisdom of the people. To add to the publicity, fans were asked to vote for the actress they thought should play Scarlett. Out of hundreds of ballots cast, Vivien Leigh got two votes.
- The wisdom of Gary Cooper. Gary Cooper turned down the role for Rhett Butler, and is quoted saying, "Gone With The Wind is going to be the biggest flop in Hollywood history," and, "I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not Gary Cooper."
- Special effects. The interior sets of Tara were built without ceilings. These were later added using matte paintings.
- More special effects. In the famous scene where Scarlet encounters a vast yard full of wounded soldiers, the filmmakers were unable to hire enough extras, so for the injured soldiers lying in the distance they used dummies. Extras lay beside the dummies and by using strings were able to move the dummies' arms and legs, making it look like they were alive.
- Wishful thinking? After Margaret Mitchell's husband saw the scene with the wounded soldiers, he is reported to have remarked, "If we'd had that many soldiers, we wouldn't have lost the war in the first place."
- The Singeing of Atlanta. The film sequence that is commonly referred to as "The Burning of Atlanta" was not the actual burning of the city by General Sherman in November 1864. Instead, the scene represents the night, two months earlier, when the retreating Confederate Army torched its ammunition dumps to keep the Union Army from capturing them.
- Double duty. In the burning of the Atlanta Depot, what was actually burning were a lot of old sets on the studio backlot, including the "Great Gate" from King Kong. The purpose of this was to clear the MGM lot so the sets for GWTW could be built.
- Anachronism. In the scene where Scarlett is seen walking on the main street on the way to the hospital, you can clearly see a light bulb in one of the street lights.
- Hi-ho! The horse that Thomas Mitchell rode was later Silver of The Lone Ranger fame.
- "I'd horse whip you—if I had a horse." Before casting had actually started, Margaret Mitchell was asked by reporters who she felt should play Rhett Butler. She replied, "Groucho Marx."
- ¿Quién es macho? Clark Gable was so distressed over the requirement that he cry on film (during the scene where Melanie is comforting Rhett after Scarlett's miscarriage) that he almost quit. Olivia de Havilland convinced him to stay.
- She also does sound effects. The scene where Scarlett digs up a turnip then retches and gives her "As God is my witness" line, the vomiting sounds were actually made by Olivia de Havilland since Vivien Leigh could not produce a convincing enough retch.
- Speaking of retching... Vivien Leigh reportedly did not like kissing Clark Gable because she said he had excessively bad breath.
- Plus, he has bad breath. In the scene when Rhett hands Mammy a glass of whisky, you can see her sniff it before drinking. In the previous take, tea was supposed to have been in the glass but as a joke Clark Gable (Rhett) had substituted real whisky. The actress didn't trust Gable after that.
- Groundbreaker. Hattie McDaniel, who played Mammy, was the first African American to win an Academy Award.
- Coincidence? Mickey Kuhn, who played Vivien Leigh's nephew Beau Wilkes, also played the young sailor who helps her onto the streetcar in A Streetcar Named Desire.
- She's alive! Cammie King, the child actress who played Bonnie Blue Butler, could not stop blinking during the filming of her funeral scene, when she is supposed to be dead. A mask of her face was made, and the scene was finally filmed with the actress wearing the mask.
- Meh. In 1939, the Hollywood Production Code dictated what could be shown or said on screen. A few suggestions to replace Rhett Butler's memorable last line were "Frankly, my dear... I just don't care," "...it makes my gorge rise," "...my indifference is boundless," "...I don't give a hoot," and "...nothing could interest me less."
- Darn? Dang? Durn? David O. Selznick elected to pay a $5,000 fine and keep the original, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." To avoid a second fine, he had Clark Gable put the emphasis on the word "give."
- Going, going... Selznick was reported to be considering producing Gone with the Wind as a serial, as it was felt the novel was too long to be successfully made into a single motion picture.
- Long-winded Wind. The first rough cut in July 1939 ran four and a half hours—48 minutes longer than the final release.
- That's entertainment. Adjusted for inflation, Gone With The Wind is the top grossing movie of all time. According to the Guinness World Records website, the total gross in 2005 figures would be $3,785,107,801.
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