‘Scarlett’ to Be CBS Miniseries

Capping a frantic, monthlong bidding war, RHI Entertainment Inc., the company responsible for the acclaimed “Lonesome Dove” miniseries, has acquired the rights to make Hollywood’s longest-awaited sequel--”Scarlett,” Alexandra Ripley’s best-selling follow-up to “Gone With the Wind.”

Robert Halmi, founder and Chairman of RHI, said the project will be a CBS miniseries for 1993. RHI acquired the rights in association with CBS, the Kirch Group of Germany and Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi. Although neither representatives of the William Morris talent agency, who negotiated the deal on behalf of the Mitchell estate, or RHI would disclose the exact purchase price, sources indicate that the figure was close to $8 million.

According to Roger Davis, William Morris executive vice president, there were eight bidders at the end of the offering period, which began a little more than a month ago when the agency began soliciting bids from producers, studios, networks and other “selected buyers.” The talent agency had set a minimum bid of $2 million plus 5% of the gross, but Davis says the offers far exceeded that figure.

“We thought people would probably come in within a few hundred thousand dollars of each other,” he said, “but the winning bid was several million dollars higher than anybody else.”

Halmi said he has been obsessed with “Scarlett” since the sequel’s inception several years ago. “I offered $100,000 for the rights when they announced it,” he said. ‘Obviously, I’m paying a lot more for it, but I don’t care. ‘Scarlett’ is the ultimate soap opera. It is Americana.”

“Scarlett,” the critically drubbed novel that takes up the stories of Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara where Margaret Mitchell left them more than 50 years ago, has sold more than a million copies and worldwide sales have exceeded 2 million copies since its release Sept. 25.

As for casting the leads, Halmi said he would like to go on a major talent search to find an actress to play Scarlett O’Hara. “I don’t want to have a ‘star,’ ” he said. “We are going to make a major global search for a year and a half to look, look, look for Scarlett. It won’t be an easy task.”

The sale of the miniseries rights is another step for the book that got its start when lawyers representing the Mitchell estate won a 12-year battle with MGM over sequel rights to “Gone With the Wind,” which is scheduled to air tonight on KTLA Channel 5. The publishing rights were obtained by Warner Books for $4.9 million. The 1939 film, which starred Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh, is one of the most beloved movies of all time and airs tonight on KTLA Channel 5. Originally released by MGM, the film is now owned by cable TV mogul Ted Turner.