Billy Elliot - videos, teasers and stills from filming
All videos, teasers and footage from the filming of the film "Billy Elliot"
Billy Elliot (2000)
Timing:
1:51 (111 min)
7.593/10
4018
4018
8.063/10
175047
175047
7.7/10
151000
151000
What's left behind the scenes
- While writing the script, Lee Hall partly drew on the story of Royal Ballet dancer Philip Marsden. Marsden is from the north of England, and many in his family worked in the mines.
- Jamie Bell studied ballet and dance in middle school, which often led to ridicule from his peers. This helped him better get into the role of Billy Elliot.
- Initially, the film was titled “Dancer” (“Танцор”), but a mix-up occurred at the Cannes Film Festival, where the film was presented. A film called “Dancer in the Dark” (“Танцующая в темноте” (2000)) was participating in the competition program. When the latter won an award, Universal Studios called the director, producer, and screenwriter of “Dancer” to congratulate them on the victory. It was then they realized the title needed to be changed and settled on “Billy Elliot”.
- Over 2,000 young actors auditioned for the lead role in the film.
- The street scenes were filmed in Isington, County Durham, a former mining town. As the Isington coal mine had been closed in 1993, the scenes required for the plot were filmed at the Ellington and Lynemouth coal mines in Northumberland, with some filming taking place in Dawson and Newcastle upon Tyne. Scenes at the Royal Ballet School were shot at Wardour Castle in Wiltshire. Over 400 people participated as extras in Isington.
- Jamie Bell’s mother, Eileen Bell, served as one of the two choreographers invited to work with him during the film’s production.
- Stephen Daldry's directorial debut.
- The filmmakers doubted whether Mrs. Wilkinson should be present in the final scene, where Billy performs the lead role in "Swan Lake." In the end, Julie Walters was unable to come to this shoot.
- While writing the screenplay, Lee Hall partially based it on the story of dancer Philip Marsden from the “Royal Ballet”. Marsden is from the north of England, and many in his family worked in the mines.
- The film was originally titled “Dancer”, but a mix-up occurred at the Cannes Film Festival, where the film was presented. A film called “Dancer in the Dark” (2000) was also participating in the competition. When the latter won an award, Universal Studios called the director, producer, and screenwriter of “Dancer” to congratulate them on the victory. It was then they realized the title needed to be changed and settled on “Billy Elliot”.
- The filmmakers debated whether Mrs. Wilkinson should be present in the final scene where Billy performs the lead role in “Swan Lake”. Ultimately, Julie Walters was unable to come for that shoot.
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