In a letter to a colleague dated November 18, 1938, film producer David O. Selznick wrote, "I would give anything if we had Olivia deHavilland under contract to us so that we could cast her as Melanie." The film he was preparing to shoot was "Gone with the Wind", and Jack L. Warner was unwilling to lend her out for the project. DeHavilland had read the novel, and unlike most other actresses, who wanted the Scarlett O'Hara role, she wanted to play Melanie Hamiltona character whose quiet dignity and inner strength she understood and felt she could bring to life on the screen.