6. El Mariachi (1992)

Budget: $7,000

And how would Sir like to pay?

Realising the $4,000 he’d managed to scrape together wasn’t going to get his Mexican gangster movie made, Robert Rodriguez sold his body to medical science, signing up to participate in the testing of a new cholesterol treatment.

Rodriguez’s time as a lab rat was far from straightforward – in return for his $3,000, the research company literally extracted a pound of flesh.

Even those days spent hanging around the ward weren’t wasted – besides finishing his script, he became friends with fellow patient Peter Marquardt, who he cast as El Mariachi’s bad guy.

Money well spent?

Absolutely. Most young directors would sell their souls for the fast-track success El Mariachi brought Rodriguez.

Next: The Crying Game