AND THEY’LL NEVER EAT TURNIPS NO MORE . . .

William Morris agent Owen Laster--who handles the estate of author Margaret Mitchell--thinks the 50th anniversary of Mitchell’s “Gone With the Wind” has whetted the public’s appetite for a sequel to MGM’s 1939 film adaptation. But so far, that long-in-development project still languishes. In fact, the rights are currently up for grabs.

“We are investigating all medias at this time,” Laster said in impeccable agent-ese.

Producers Richard Zanuck and David Brown had plans to produce a “GWTW” sequel in 1975 called “Tara, the Continuation of Gone With the Wind.” The proposed MGM-Universal co-production had a James Goldman script based on a screen story “novelization” by Anne Edwards, who’s written biographies of Mitchell and “GWTW” star Vivien Leigh. Burt Reynolds was among those who turned down the chance to play Rhett Butler.

Six years later, Zanuck and Brown left the project due to “creative differences” but Brown claims they’re still interested.

“Our dream team is Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep,” Brown told us. “Nicholson’s sardonic wit and roguish quality is similar to Rhett’s. Streep has the independence, strength and sexuality Scarlett possessed.”

But if they did it now, Brown said, it would be as a TV miniseries. And, he conceded, “I doubt that our dream team would ever do television.”