Gone with the Wind (film) task ... and Howard's first submission was far too long, and would have required at least six hours of film; ... [producer] Selznick wanted Howard to remain on the set to make revisions ... but Howard refused to leave New England [and] as a result, revisions were handled by a host of local writers". Selznick dismissed director George Cukor three weeks into filming and sought out Victor Fleming, who was directing "The Wizard of Oz" at the time. Fleming was dissatisfied with the script, so Selznick brought in famed writer Ben Hecht to rewrite the entire screenplay within five days.
Victor Fleming pro-Nazi" and strongly opposed to the United States entering World War II. According to the Fleming biography "Victor Fleming: An American Movie Master", by author Michael Sragow, Fleming had once mocked the UK at the outset of World War II by taking a bet as to how long the country could withstand an attack by Germany. The accuracy of Revere's characterization of Fleming has been disputed, however. According to "Victor Fleming: An American Movie Master", Revere had made her comment because she felt she had been cast in the film "The Yearling" over Flora Robson because Robson was British. However,