article: It is the big-screen release Wales' football fans have been waiting for - the movie that transforms Gareth Bale and his Wales Euro 2016 teammates from sports stars to film stars. But when film icon Sir Michael Gambon likes the sounds of "Don't Take Me Home" so much that he fancies dropping by this week's London premiere then you realise the sporting storyline is a little special. "When you hear a movie legend like that, likes the story then you know you've got a storyline that has a wide appeal beyond Welsh football," said director Jonny Owen. Don't Take Me Home, named after Wales football fans' Euro 2016 terrace anthem, premieres fittingly on St David's Day. But like Wales' down-to-earth players, the official premiere is far from the glitz and glamour of Leicester Square but more an industrial park outside of Pontypridd. But in the week that Leicester City's fall from Premier League grace finally unravelled with the sacking of their manager, you might be forgiven for thinking this is just an overindulgence about just another sporting fairytale. Hardly. This starts with the most tragic of beginnings - the death of Wales football manager Gary Speed. A group of young players, most of whom were friends after growing up together in Welsh youth teams, had to deal with the grief of not just losing their boss but their role model. In that context, what they achieved less than five years later - qualifying for Wales' first major championship finals in almost 60 years - seems "worthy of immortalising in film". It was certainly beyond the wildest fantasies of any Welsh football fan - especially when they were below Haiti and Guatemala at 117 in the world rankings in 2011. Then in November of the same year, Speed was found hanged in his garage, aged just 42. It did not just resonate in Wales and football, Speed's death shocked the country. "Wales were constantly suffering so-called heartache, failing to qualify for tournaments at the final hurdle, but Gary's tragic death put those disappointments into perspective," said Owen. "Gary's death was obviously devastating for his family and friends, but the sadness and grief must have affected this group of young lads who were loving playing football for one of their Welsh footballing heroes. "It seemed to have a profound affect on them. It seemed to galvanise an already pretty strong bond, a togetherness and also context - as if they could come through this, then playing football and dealing with that pressure would be easier. "No-one could have predicted then that virtually the same team would create history at Euro 2016 - those boys have some character." The rise to the European Championships was Roy of the Rovers stuff. Built on a foundation of structured defending with the added sprinkle of stardust from the world's most expensive player, Wales defied the odds and not just qualified for their first finals since the 1958 World Cup - they reached the semi-finals. No other team in history has risen up Fifa's world rankings quicker than Wales.
summary: "When Professor Dumbledore from Harry Potter likes the story, you know you're in business."