A Visit with Paul Rabwin about GWTW and other things

Warner Brothers sent out a press release today (Sept. 8, 2014) saying their 75^th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition of Gone With the Wind arrives September 30; that there are limited and numbered, with new collectible packaging, new memorabilia, new special features and that “Nationwide Celebrations are Scheduled.” If you are a follower of this website– or the other great GWTW sites, Facebook pages, or email updates– you probably know about some of this already, but there are many who are excited to see Warner Brothers shining the light on this iconic film.

“Yes, Mr. Selznick, Recollections of Hollywood’s Golden Age” was written by Selznick’s executive assistant, Marcella Rabwin

Hollywood producer Paul Rabwin and his brother Mark have a different perspective on Gone With the Wind than most people. Their mother, Marcella Rabwin, was the executive assistant to GWTW Producer David O. Selznick during the filming of the movie. So 75 years after their mother watched Selznick sign off on the final version– and she helped with the planning of the Atlanta Premiere, they actually have personal memories that their mother told them, and the newly packaged movie that is coming out soon means a lot to his family.

Their mother told them about the blood, sweat, and many tears shed during the production and they learned more, when they found the book she had written, “Yes, Mr. Selznick,” and they had it published posthumously. Her personal memories are in that book and also in “The Making of A Masterpiece, the True Story of Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind” because they gave the author an audio tape from a speech she gave in Atlanta about her experiences and they also shared some of her memories.

From “The Making of a Masterpiece“–“He (Selznick) worked closely with the actors, as well as the crew, and worked with the editing. He was involved in every event that happened along the way. I was very close to Mr. Selznick. People always said, ‘What did you do?’ and I say, ‘Anything he didn’t have time for.’ I was involved in every phase of the production of his films from the beginning when you bought the thing to the time when it was finished and you could breathe again.”

According to Marcella Rabwin, the film cost “four million, eighty-five thousand, seven hundred and ninety dollars.” Selznick’s original plan was for a movie that would last two and a half hours and cost about two million. At that time it was the most expensive film ever made or even imagined.”

According to the Warner Brothers press release, on September 22, WBHE (Warner Brothers Home Entertainment) will partner with The Actors Hall of Fame in a special 75^th Anniversary Gone with the Wind fundraising gala to benefit dramatic arts education in schools.

Hundreds of stars and industry leaders will arrive ‘in costume’ at the historic Culver Studios (which was once Selznick Studios) where many key scenes of the movie were filmed and it will be streamed online. This building has special meaning for Paul Rabwin because his mother worked in it, not just on GWTW but in her years working for Selznick on all the films they did. And he has had a chance to work–and play– there also.

Paul Rabwin is a producer for ABC / Twentieth Century FOX.

“A few years ago the Culver Studios was purchased by an investment group,” Rabwin said.  “And they held a special screening event, with the studio staff in costume.  I was there and had some very interesting conversations with the owners and managers.  It was lots of fun being there.”

He said he probably will not be attending the gala just announced, due to his busy schedule as a television producer. He has several shows in production.

“I go there (the Culver Studios building) from time to time, since we shoot several shows over there, including Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD and Red Band Society” (new this fall on FOX network)

Speaking of his upcoming shows, what else is Paul working on ?

New show coming out in mid-season: “American Crime”.  Starring: Felicity Huffman | Timothy Hutton | W. Earl Brown | Richard Cabral | Caitlin Gerard | Benito Martinez | Penelope Ann Miller | Elvis Nolasco | Johnny Ortiz

American Crime synopsis: All over the news are reports about a young couple in Modesto, California, who were attacked in their home. The case sends shock waves into the community stirring up tensions across racial lines in this gritty drama.

Rabwin was also instrumental in starting the hit series “Nashville”–which he says he is not as involve with this year– and “Once Upon A Time” as well as the ones he mentioned above.

 

—————— WARNER BROTHER’S PRESS RELEASE——————–

75^th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition

Arrives September 30

Limited & Numbered, With New Collectible Packaging,

New Memorabilia and New Special Features

Nationwide Celebrations Scheduled

Burbank, Calif., June 3, 2014 – On September 30, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) will honor one of the most celebrated motion pictures of all time with theGone with the Wind 
75^th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition on Blu-ray™ and Digital HD with UltraViolet.

Gone with the Wind — the quintessential Hollywood epic and still history’s all-time domestic box-office champion ($1.6 billion^[1]), with more tickets sold than any other movie ever made – is a “must have” for classic film collectors. It will be fittingly presented in limited and numbered sets, with new collectible packaging, new enhanced content and new collectible memorabilia. The memorabilia includes a replica of Rhett Butler’s handkerchief and a music box paperweight playing Tara’s theme with an image on top of the Rhett-Scarlett kiss. Also included is a 36-page companion booklet featuring a look at the immortal style of Gone with the Wind, written by New York fashion designer and Project Runway finalist Austin Scarlett, whose signature look reflects the romantic elegance of the Gone with the Wind era.

The new special features include footage of Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh attending the original movie premiere in Atlanta and Old South/New South, a journey through today’s South, revisiting the real-life locations depicted to see how the world of the Old South continues to inform life in the New South’s cosmopolitan world. Gone with the Wind 75^th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition will be available for $49.99 SRP. 

75^th Anniversary Celebrations Nationwide

To commemorate the 75^th anniversary of Gone with the Wind, the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin will launch the exhibition, “The Making of‘Gone With The Wind.’” For the first time in more than 25 years, three original gowns worn by Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara, including the iconic green curtain dress, will be exhibited together along with replicas of the film’s other gowns. Additionally, more than 300 items from producer David O. Selznick’s archive will be displayed, including behind-the-scenes photographs, storyboards, correspondence, production records, audition footage and fan mail. Turner Classic Movies is one of the sponsors of the exhibition which runs from September 9 – January 4, 2015.

On September 22, WBHE will partner with The Actors Hall of Fame in a special 75^th Anniversary Gone with the Wind fundraising gala to benefit dramatic arts education in schools. Hundreds of stars and industry leaders will arrive ‘in costume’ at the historic Culver Studios where many key scenes of the movie were filmed. The gala will be streamed live from the Mansion on digital and social media around the world. Planned highlights of this special evening include the dedication of the Olivia de Havilland Dramatic Arts Education Center and a recreation of the famous Virginia Reel dance scene from the movie, with student actors in period costumes and a silent auction including Gone With The Wind memorabilia. For additional information on the events, go to www.hrc.utexas.edu and www.actorshalloffame.comrespectively.

About the Movie

Gone with the Wind, lauded as one of the American cinema’s grandest, most ambitious and spectacular pieces of filmmaking, was helmed by Victor Fleming in 1939, the same year as the director’s The Wizard of Oz. It captured 10 Academy Awards^®[2] including Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress for Hattie McDaniel, the first Oscar awarded to an African-American actor. Margaret Mitchell’s Pulitzer-prize winning novel, on which the film is based, has been translated into 16 languages, has sold hundreds of millions of copies worldwide, and even now, continues to sell 50,000 copies a year.

Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland, Leslie Howard and Hattie McDaniel star in this classic epic of the American South. On the eve of the Civil War, rich, beautiful and self-centered Scarlett O’Hara (Leigh) has everything she could want – except Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard). As the war devastates the South, Scarlett discovers the strength within herself to protect her family and rebuild her life. Through everything, she longs for Ashley, unaware that she is already married to the man she really loves (Gable) – and who truly loves her – until she finally drives him away. Only then does Scarlett realize what she has lost … and tries to win him back.

Special Features:

• Featuring footage including Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh attending the original movie premiere in Atlanta

• Old South/New South NEW! Take a journey of discovery through today’s South, revisiting the real-life locations depicted in Gone With the Wind, from Gettysburg to Atlanta to New Orleans, to see how the world of the Old South – and the themes depicted in the film – continue to inform life in the cosmopolitan world of the New South.

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Sally Tippett Rains is the author of The Making of A Masterpiece, the True Story of Margaret Mitchell and Gone With the Wind. She is content editor for StLSportsPage.com. Follow her on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/GWTW-Book/394926172974