Iconic British movie costs £2.8m to make but takes £900m at box office
The story of boy with a passion for ballet, which has proudly claimed a spot amongst the UK's most iconic - and profitable - films, initially struggled to be made
One of the most iconic British films of all-time struggled to raise its tiny £2.8m budget yet took $1.2 billion dollars (£900m) at the box office.
'Billy Elliot' has just celebrated its 25th anniversary with yet another stage version of the show about to open in South Korea. For Geordie-born writer Lee Hall, it was his first major screenplay and told the story of the 11-year-old boy from a County Durham coal-mining family who discovers a passion for ballet.
Yet the makers of the hit movie, directed by Stephen Daldry, could not initially raise the funding for the film, then called 'Dancer', to be made. It started life at the Live Theatre in Newcastle, which is supported by stars like Sting and Dame Sheila Hancock.
Tyneside-born producer Jon Finn whose grandfather worked down the pits in Easington, Co Durham, where the film was set, told how that first script arrived on his desk at Working Title Films.
Despite its worldwide success, there was a lack of backers. He told the Mirror: "That script arrived fully formed. I remember reading it, still the only script that made me cry.
"It was called Dancer back then, I thought it was such a terrible title, I was close to leaving it. It was 'Dancer' for ages, we changed it at the last minute to 'Billy Elliot'. But nobody wanted it.
"Raising the finances was really tricky, and it had a tiny budget." The script was pitched to various potential backers. All questioned the idea of a boy who wanted to be a ballet dancer at the time of the Miners Strike in 1984-5."
Jon, originally from Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, realised on the day of the test screening - where a rough cut of the film is shown to gauge audience reaction - that his fortunes were about to change.
He said: "The budget was weeny, weeny, weeny; nobody thought it was going to be a success until they saw it. On the day of the test screening, I was looking at my baby son on the bed.
"I remember thinking 'son, this is the day that is going to change my life', and it did. It had never happened to me before and it certainly has not happened to me since.
"The whole franchise including the stage play has taken 1.2bn dollars, which is insane. Billy Elliot has been very, very kind to me." He joked: "I am the last person in the family to be making money from the British coal industry, I am still digging deep for the miners.
"We did it on Broadway and won the most Tony awards of any British musical. I was there for the rehearsal of that awards night, and the producer was shouting: 'Liza Minnelli, get behind Shrek'."
Jon, who attended Greenwell and Dryden schools in Gateshead, taking part in numerous school plays and stage productions, added: "I was thinking of that younger version of myself.
"Making films is what I always wanted to do, but it has been quite a journey." Singer Brooke Havana Bailey, 30, played Billy's girlfriend Debbie Wilkinson in the first production of the stage play, again produced by Jon, back in 2004, a huge break for a girl of nine.
She said: "The only experience that I had before was dance competitions and a couple of shows. It made me realise that the dream of a singing career was possible and real. It was something that I had always wanted to do."
"Everything changed for me because of that show. I am very, very grateful." The young stage stars, aged nine to 11, stayed in the 'Billy House' with chaperones at home and at the theatre.
Brooke, who did auditions for the part first in Newcastle, then London, before later taking a place at stage school, added: "It was an absolute dream world for me being on stage in the West End.
"I remember going to Elton John's house with the rest of the cast and we were in a private jet with comedian 'Pan Am'. She was so funny, there was a bit of swearing, but we were used to that with the stage play.
"You mature and grow up fast. Being on the beach with Elton John in the South of France was unforgettable." Brooke's mum Suzanne dashed to her primary school in South Shields, South Tyneside to break the news that her little girl had landed the role as she could not wait until the end of the school day.
Brooke recalled: "She came into the assembly and everyone was so excited for me, she could not wait for me to finish school to tell me that I had landed the part, so I was in assembly.
"It was surreal; even now, when I say that I was in Billy Elliot, it is hard to think that it was a normal part of my life." The coming-of-age picture won three Bafta awards and earned three Oscar nominations.
Directed by Daldry, his first feature, it was shot in and around Easington Colliery, renamed Everington in the film. Set against the grim backdrop of the miners' strike, it told the story of a working-class lad determined to overcome prejudice and poverty to pursue his dream of becoming a professional dancer.
Actor Jamie Bell made his debut in the title role, with Julie Walters as his formidable dance teacher. Hall developed Elliot from a play he wrote for Newcastle's Live Theatre.
The success of his screenplay catapulted him onto the international stage in 2000. The film itself made more than $100m, around £70m, worldwide.
Hall teamed up with Elton John to adapt it into a stage musical. That show went on to win 10 Tony Awards, and four Olivier awards. On a recent visit to Tyneside, Hall told of his pride in its success. He said: "I still feel really honoured when people come up and mention it."