Warner Home Video and Turner Classic Movies have selected Marietta as the location for the exclusive 70th anniversary re-premiere of "Gone With the Wind," and six of the remaining cast members will help kickoff the gala celebration at a weekend of events November 13-14 on the Square as part of the city's 175th anniversary, which will also be celebrated.
The re-premiere will be more hands-on than the 1939 premiere, Patrick Curtis, who played baby Beau Wilkes in the movie, said. "The re-premiere will emphasize interaction between the stars and fans."
Schedule of events
Set dancing world record on Square
You can help set a Guinness world record ™ as 70 couples will dance on the Marietta Square Friday at noon in the biggest Virginia reel ever seen in Marietta. If you have a costume and would like to be a part of the record attempt, call 770-794-5576.
Perfect location for re-premiere
Marietta is mentioned in Margaret Mitchell's novel "Gone with the Wind" and is the perfect location to host the re-premiere because the museum is in a former cotton warehouse that was built in 1875, Sutherland said.
The museum, in Marietta since April 2003, is operated by the city of Marietta, and the collection is privately owned by Dr. Chris Sullivan of Akron, Ohio. The collection includes the original Bengaline honeymoon gown worn by Vivien Leigh as Scarlett in the 1939 movie, foreign editions of the novel, movie memorabilia, costumes and jewelry, signed first editions and contracts, movie props, original scripts, shooting scripts, final scripts, scene drawings, original posters, photographs and approximately 100 dolls.
"We will decorate the façade of the Strand the same way the theatre was decorated in 1939," Sutherland said. "We'll have bunting on the windows and a large oval photograph of Rhett and Scarlett dominating the façade."
The two-day event, hosted by the Gone with the Wind Museum in conjunction with the Earl Smith Strand Theatre, Turner Classic Movies and Warner Brothers Home Video, is part of Marietta's 175th anniversary in 2009.
For more information and tickets, call the Marietta Gone with the Wind Museum at 770-794-5145 or email csutherland@mariettaga.gov.