Vivien Leigh travelled to Hollywood, leaving Leigh in London. Goldwyn and the film's director, William Wyler, offered Leigh the secondary role of Isabella, but she refused, preferring the role of Cathy, which went to Merle Oberon. Hollywood was in the midst of a widely publicized search to find an actress to portray Scarlett O'Hara in David O. Selznick's production of "Gone with the Wind" (1939). At the time, Myron Selznick—David's brother and Leigh's American theatrical agent—was the London representative of the Myron Selznick Agency. In February 1938, Leigh made a request to Myron Selznick that she be considered to play the part
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,