MovieChat Forums > Scarlett (1994) Discussion > Rhett Butler's People

Rhett Butler's People

posted 16 years ago by jr_harry
7 replies | jump to latest

Anyone read the book yet? Will this be made into a movie? If so, made-for-tv, or feature length? I think George Clooney for Rhett and Rachel McAdams for Scarlett.

[–] hey_teacher 16 years ago

I read the book, and I recommend you don't waste your money on it. Go to amazon.com and read the reviews. It's pretty bad.

[–] lauranezat 16 years ago

I am a huge fan of Gone With The Wind; so I have read both Rhett Butler's People and Scarlett. Rhett Butler's People is the only authorized sequel to Gone With The Wind and is a phenomenal book. It explains Rhett Butler's life and why he was not received into any decent home in the South. I preferred this book over Scarlett. I would very much recommend that this book be read. I enjoyed the story line of Rhett Butler's People that that of Scarlett.

[–] Tess_D 16 years ago

I quite enjoyed it - while in my opinion not of the same standard of GWtW, very enjoyable nonetheless. If they did make a film, I think it should have George Clooney as Rhett and Natalie Dormer as Scarlett.

www.almataverntheatre.co.uk/theatreWhatsOn.php?month=02&yea r=2008

[–] maskimx 16 years ago

Hated this book. I feel it did not show the true Rhett Butler that Margaret Mitchell gave us. Craptacular book, don't waste your time or money.

[–] ewashkow 16 years ago

I, personally, enjoyed the book. You have to remember that while Mitchell's estate endorses the book, Rhett and the characters contained in the book, are creations of what McCraig wants them to be. Would Mitchell have written this book differently? Possibly. Just read it and enjoy it for what it is. Or rent it from the library so that way if you don't like it, you didn't spend money on it.

[–] Noirdame79 12 years ago

I couldn't stand "Rhett Butler's People". I didn't recognize the characters that I came to know and love, especially Melanie. Donald McCaig butchered Melanie to the point of where she was devoid of any of the selfless qualities she possessed in GWTW. While the idea of a novel from Rhett's point of view is intriguing, the fact of the matter is, his mysteriousness and how he comes and goes out of Scarlett's life is actually one of the most magnetic things about him, much like Heathcliff in "Wuthering Heights". McCaig clearly did not read GWTW thoroughly - in fact, he admitted he read Cliffnotes and skimmed his wife's copy of the original novel. He was extremely lazy in his research, which he admitted. His Rhett is nothing like Mitchell's, or Ripley's for that matter. He's a lovesick puppy, and Scarlett is reduced to a pining defeatist. Not to mention his retelling of events from the original novel were either wrong or completely left out (Scarlett's miscarriage, for one). And don't even get me started on that strew of secondary and minor characters that came and went and served no purpose.

I loved the book "Scarlett", although it could never match Mitchell's original masterpiece. At least Alexandra Ripley did her research and it was obvious that she understood the characters of Scarlett and Rhett. I agree that Ripley's book is more like a bodice-ripping romance novel, but at least you get the sense that she knew what and whom she was writing about. Also, "Scarlett" was an authorized sequel as well, which makes their authorization of "Rhett Butler's People" even more confusing. Did they even read the manuscript?

IMO, if you're going read any GWTW sequels, "Scarlett" is the one to read.

[–] marktayloruk (2380) 3 years ago

Too PC for my liking . No evidence in GWTW that Rhett was liberal on race.