The Making of a Masterpiece: An Interview with GWTW Author Sally Tippett Rains

Editors' Note: Today it is our honor and pleasure to feature a guest post from  our long time reader and commenter Rita from St. Lou. Rita is here to give you more details about Gateway to the Wind, the Gone with the Wind conference that will take place in St. Louis in November, and she has a special surprise for us: an interview with Sally Tippett Rains, author of a book about Gone with the Wind and host of Gateway to the Wind. Enjoy and please let us  know what you think about the event (will you be able to attend?) and the points Rita and Sally discussed in the interview. 

St. Louisan Sally Tippett Rains author of THE MAKING OF A MASTERPIECE (The True Story of Margaret Mitchell's Classic Novel, Gone With The Wind) will host a 3-day conference, Nov. 5--Nov.7 2010, to celebrate Margaret Mitchell's birthday and the 70th Anniversary of the St. Louis premiere of GWTW.

This series of spectacular events features a discussion session with several of the surviving cast members of the movie, and a presentation by Herb Bridges, famed GWTW collector and author of GONE WITH THE WIND: THE THREE DAY PREMIERE IN ATLANTA. Mr. Bridges will be speaking about his book at the Conference.

Additional scheduled events include a GWTW memorabilia exhibit featuring the collection of Novella Perrin, PhD. and the "Fiddle-Dee-Dee Follies," a musical production saluting GWTW.  A separate but related event, "Gateway to the Wind Charity Ball" will be held for the benefit of Rainbows for Kids, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization aiding children with cancer and their families.

Just for you my fellow Windies, I bring you a GWTW Scrapbook exclusive interview with Sally. Enjoy!

Rita from St. Lou

 

What inspired you to write your book, The Making of a Masterpiece? 

There was an article I saw online that said Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler could have been based after these two real people. I love doing research so I started digging into it and pretty soon I was writing a book.  My research showed that while author Margaret Mitchell probably did not base her characters after these two people, she may have based the "star-crossed" lovers storyline on them. The research was interesting never the less and I included it in my book.

In the three years that it took to research and write the book, what was the most challenging aspect of the project?

As far as challenging, there was nothing difficult in writing the book. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute and did not want to stop to turn the book in. I met the most interesting people. They were all so nice and helpful. I wish I could have interviewed Olivia de Havilland, I tried very hard to get an interview with her but she lives in Paris and many times I thought I got her but something would happen. I was able to talk to six actors who were in the movie, though.

You've met some members of Margaret Mitchell's family, did anybody surprise you with a unique story about her?

Margaret Mitchell had no children so there really are not a lot of relatives still around. The most interesting thing about interviewing members of her family was that after a long process of working with one of her cousins, she abruptly asked me not to use what she had told me. She had actually given me some interesting information, but this woman was old and had some illness going on in her family and I wanted to just respect her so I dropped that part of the book.

How does Mitchell's family feel about being associated with the book and the movie?

In my research I found some ground-breaking evidence that they were happy to be associated with the movie, but unhappy with Margaret because they felt she should have said the book was based on their family. I was able to view a family scrapbook which I have a copy of. This will be available for viewing at the Gateway To The Wind event being held in St. Louis November 5-7.

Your event "Gateway to the Wind", which will be held in St. Louis on the 70th anniversary of the the St. Louis premiere of the movie, brings together GWTW actors from the movie, collectors, experts and "Windies."  What do you hope to accomplish by bringing this group of people together that hasn't already been done?

Most of the Gone with the Wind events have centered just around the movie. This event brings in the element of the real-life history in Margaret Mitchell's family which caused her to write the book.

Herb Bridges is scheduled to speak about the Atlanta premiere of GWTW.  He's been respected for years as the foremost authority of the movie.  What can you tell us about him?

Herb Bridges is a real Southern gentleman. As a young boy he worked at the Loews Theatre in Atlanta where Gone with the Wind premiered. He had a great interest in the movie and began collecting memorabilia. He met some of Margaret Mitchell's relatives including her brother and made quite a career out of lecturing and writing about Gone with the Wind.

Dr. Novella Perrin will also be speaking, and will exhibit her extensive collection of GWTW memorablia.  What are you looking forward to seeing most at the exhibit?

I am excited to see Aunt Pittypat's parasol. Aunt Pitty was an interesting character added possibly for comedic purposes, but also because she had an Aunt Pittypat herself. The character was loosely based on the elderly aunts in her family who raised various members of the family on their plantation, Rural Home.

I'm really looking forward to the memorabilia exhibit. It had been scheduled for a museum but at the last minute the museum pulled out and we were lucky enough to find someone willing to step in and put on the exhibit. I'd like to thank you, Rita for doing that. You, along with the students you teach at ITT Technical Institute will be transforming a meeting room into a beautiful exhibition room. I've been able to meet the students and they seem so talented and enthusiastic so I can't wait to see what they do with the exhibit.

Which actors from the movie are scheduled to attend the Conference?

Actors from the movie include the three "Beaus," the actors who portrayed Beau Wilkes at various ages: Mickey Kuhn, Patrick Curtis, and Greg Giese. The other guests are all going to be so interesting to Gone With The Wind fans. We have the sons of Marcella Rabwin who was GWTW producer David Selznick's executive assistant; the niece of Susan Myrick, who was Mitchell's friend and she worked as a consultant in Hollywood on Gone With The Wind, and a man whose ancestral property butts up next to the Fitzgerald property which was Mitchell's relatives'.  There are a few other surprises who will be announced as we go.

You're also hosting the "Gateway to the Wind Charity Ball" for the benefit of your non-profit organization, Rainbows for Kids.  Tell us about the that.

In 1999 my little six year old niece was diagnosed with cancer. She, as all children are, was one of the lights of our lives. We wanted to help others like her so my family put on a party at Cardinal Glennon Hospital where Annie was being treated. She helped us with the refreshments and passing out the toys. After she passed away we continued putting on fun parties and events and here we are eleven years later. None of us gets paid, we spend all the money we get on the projects for the kids. This past summer we had a "baseball team" and kids of all ages and skill levels were able to play on this team which included their siblings also. Siblings tend to get left out so we always include them. Each year we put on one big fundraiser so I thought, "how about doing a ball!"  We will have some great silent auction items--some are Gone With The Wind items, but others are autographed sports items and just general items. The one thing that goes fast each year will be the "Magnolia Mania."  For $20 a person buys a flower and there is a prize with it that is worth $25. We usually sell out with that the first 15 minutes.

What do you think, does Scarlett get Rhett back in the end?

Yes, I think she does. He is very hurt at the end but throughout the book his goal was to get her and once he did, he actually fell in love with her I felt. I disagree with Margaret Mitchell trying to make us believe that Scarlett actually did love him at the end and she just realized it. To me she was just playing her Scarlett games. She seemed to be trying to get Ashley even in his most grieving hour and when she realized she was never going to get him she decided maybe Rhett wasn't so bad. In Mitchell's real-life Fitzgerald family, her grandmother Annie was the one that people point to as having the most qualities similar to Scarlett's. One thing which came out in my research was that Annie's husband John got fed up with her and moved out. He moved into the old Markham house down the street and remained there, so that may be the real-life incident that triggered Mitchell to have Rhett finally and dramatically leave.