On December 10, 1938, David O. Selznick burned down Atlanta. On the back of his Culver City studio, Selznick had begun filming what would be his and Hollywoods greatest triumph, GONE WITH THE WIND. Selznick was just thirtysix years old and already a legend. He had run a major studio before the age of thirty and created his own studio by the time he was thirtythree. With a harsh and controlling demeanor, he dominated every film he made. In a town of Mayers, Zanucks, and Goldwyns, David Selznick was king. But one of his most lasting contributions would have nothing to do with his grand, southern epic. Instead, it would be bringing to America a rotund, quiet director who was the shining star of British cinema. In the summer of 1939, David Selznick brought Alfred Hitchcock to Hollywood.David Oliver Selznick was born into a wealthy Pennsylvania family in 1902. His father Lewis J. Selznick was a successful film producer, and David studied the industry from his early years. As a young man he worked for his father, moving to Hollywood and MGM in 1926. With a voracious appetite for success he worked his way from the bottom of Hollywood to the top moving from MGM, where he was a story editor and associate producer, to Paramount as an associate director, to RKO as vice president of production, and back to MGM. Returning to MGM he played a crucial part of the production of a number of major films including George Cukor’s DAVID COPPERFIELD and DINNER AT EIGHT.Selznick longed for his independence and in 1936 formed Selznick International. Within three years he had secured his place among the elite of Hollywood with the production of one of its greatest films, GONE WITH THE WIND. While finishing the film, Selznick hired an English director who was looking to make a go of it in Hollywood.

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