Vivien Leigh friendship developed after he congratulated her on her performance. Olivier and Leigh began an affair while acting as lovers in "Fire Over England" (1937), but Olivier was still married to actress Jill Esmond. During this period, Leigh read the Margaret Mitchell novel "Gone with the Wind" and instructed her American agent to recommend her to David O. Selznick, who was planning a film version. She remarked to a journalist, "I've cast myself as Scarlett O'Hara", and "The Observer" film critic C. A. Lejeune recalled a conversation of the same period in which Leigh "stunned us all" with the assertion that
Gone with the Wind (film) competitive wins stood until "Gigi" (1958) won nine, and its overall record of ten was broken by "Ben-Hur" (1959) which won eleven. "Gone with the Wind" also held the record for most nominations until "All About Eve" (1950) secured fourteen. It was the longest American sound film made up to that point, and may still hold the record of the longest Best Picture winner depending on how it is interpreted. The running time for "Gone with the Wind" is just under 221 minutes, while "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962) runs for just over 222 minutes; however, including the overture, intermission, entr'acte,