July 2010 The move also led American actor and director Clint Eastwood (who had filmed Hereafter in London) to write to the British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne in August 2010 to protest the decision to close the council. Eastwood warned Osborne that the closure could result in fewer foreign production companies choosing to work in the UK. A grass-roots online campaign was launched and a petition established by supporters of the council. Countering this, a few professionals including Michael Winner, Julian Fellowes and Chris Atkins supported the Government's decision. A number of other organisations such as Save The British Film Industry responded positively. At the closure of the UK Film Council on 31 March 2011, The Guardian reported that "The UKFC's entire annual budget was a reported £3m, while the cost of closing it down and restructuring is estimated to have been almost four times that amount." One of the UKFC's last films, The King's Speech'', is estimated to have cost $15m to make and grossed $235m, besides winning several Academy Awards. UKFC invested $1.6m for a 34% share of net profits, a valuable stake which passed to the British Film Institute. See also Northern Ireland Screen Scottish Screen Creative England British Film Institute References External links UKFC website archived at the Wayback Machine Film organisations in the United Kingdom Arts organisations based in the United Kingdom Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport