Flashback

GETTING THE GANG TOGETHER

Dino De Laurentiis had first acquired the rights to Flash Gordon intending it to be an English-language directorial debut for Federico Fellini. But by 1978 Fellini had dropped out, and with the gargantuan success of Star Wars the year before, De Laurentiis decided to act. In place of one auteur, he hired another: Nicolas Roeg who, along with screenwriter Michael Allin, worked on pre-production for six months before their overtly sexualised, and increasingly expensive, take on the property fell out of De Laurentiis’ favour. Replacing them was screenwriter Lorenzo Semple Jr and Get Carter director Mike Hodges.

Nic Roeg was originally going to direct it. And Dino was looking to use his sets for a sequel. So Nic, who was a friend, suggested me. I met Dino in New York. I told him I didn’t think I was the appropriate director. I didn’t know enough about comics or special effects. And I was a different kind of director. You know, the cynic of . Anyway, Nic and he finally fell out. Nic was fired and Dino, for reasons I still don’t fully understand, decided to