How Crocodile Dundee was made on a tiny crowd-funded budget from Paul Hogan and producer

THE original Crocodile Dundee film was made on a tiny budget virtually crowd-funded from mates of Paul Hogan and producer John Cornell.

THE original Crocodile Dundee film was made on a tiny budget virtually crowd-funded from mates of Paul Hogan and producer John Cornell.

Thanks to advertising and endorsements from The Paul Hogan Show, both Hogan and Cornell, who played Strop in the series, were millionaires when they came up with the idea for the movie in 1985.

Crocodile Dundee was made on a tiny budget but it has turned out to be one of the biggest films from Australia that has been recognised in the US. Picture: Supplied

They bucked tradition by ignoring handouts from The Australian Film Commission and big movie investors. The pair also decided to avoid the traditional deal with mammoth film studios which involve a pre-sale profit guarantee in exchange for creative control.

Instead they gave an interview to a business magazine about the movie and caught the eye of a Queensland investment bank, which agreed to underwrite the film’s $7 million budget.

Alerted by the article, others began to kick in money to add to the $600,000 pumped in by Hogan and Cornell.

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John Cornell chats with Hogan during the premiere of Crocodile Dundee II. Picture: Gregg Porteous

They included small investors, cricketers and INXS rocker Michael Hutchence — all attracted by the prospect of movie-related tax breaks.

Investment banker Paul Morgan said: “Australians aren’t great risk-takers as far as movies are concerned. It was bloody hard work.”

Crocodile Dundee went on to become the second highest-grossing movie in the world in 1986, taking the equivalent today of $110 million in Australia alone.