Flash Gordonstill stands alone in the pantheon of comic book movies 40 years on.
But the film we know and love is a world away from how it began.
A much-less-minted Lucas was forced to make his own space adventure movie instead, a little project calledStar Wars.
Eventually, Hodges relented.
So, he convinced me to do it.
It was everything Roeg and Allin had resisted, and it was escalating quickly.
De Laurentiis had also snagged the assistance of Danilo Donati, a production designer whod worked with Federico Fellini.
I think [Donati] wanted to make it an Italian surrealistic sort of film.
I was, in a sense, outside of the circle in many ways.
I basically had to survive by seeing what they gave me to work with, he says.
Once I got the hang of it, I just had a lovely time.
It was really terrific.
Flash Gordon: Football Career of Savior of the Universe Revealed!
Hodges confirms that even the memorable football fight sequence was never in the original script.
Jones had noted that the elaborate eggs being carried by one of the alien races resembled footballs.
I decided that it had to be comedic and fun, and so thats what we ended up with.
When the crew would laugh at rushes, [De Laurentiis] would say Why they laugh?
I had to ask them not to laugh, because he was particularly upset about it.
But Dino, because he was so child-like in many ways, kept me on the straight and narrow.
Another vital piece of theFlash Gordonpuzzle was the exceptional Queen soundtrack.
But Hodges was initially leaning towards a very different vibe.
It wasThe Dark Side of the Moon, which was an amazing record.
I put the question mark in the hand picking the ring up at the end as a joke.
I mean, it wasnt meant to be taken seriously.
I never learned how to capitalize on my success stories, which I should have done, he says.
But its a power game, which I never really understood.
I wonder whether I would have gone to seeFlash Gordon, if Im honest.
He now stays busy writing novels, novellas and short stories.
I dont have to bother with anybody.
I dont have to raise any money to pay for my printer and ink, he says cheerfully.
Ive got enough money to pay for the paper.
