Ah, ok, I stand corrected:
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 Studios, was determined to make Gone with the Wind (1939) an MGM film. Mayer 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. However, none of them 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 Clark Gable and $1.25 million toward production costs, in return for giving MGM 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 per week salary and one-third of Gable’s $50,000 loan-out bonus. „GWTW“ 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. John Hay Whitney later sold the rights to Gone with the Wind (1939) back to MGM for a $2.4 million.
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"Film is a disease. And the only antidote to film is more film." - Frank Capra