Longtime friend and “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” producer Mike Kaplan confirmed Hodges’ passing on December 20. Hodges died of heart failure December 17 at his home in Dorset, England. He is survived by his wife Carol Laws, two sons Ben and Jake Hodges, and five grandchildren. Hodges helmed gangster thriller novel adaptation “Get Carter,” which starred Michael Caine as hitman Jack Carter who investigates a pornography ring involved in his brother’s murder. The 1971 neo-noir film was named one of the 100 best British films of all-time by Sight and Sound magazine in 1999. Hodges and Caine formed production company Three Michaels along with “Get Carter” producer Michael Klinger. The trio returned for 1972’s “Pulp,” with Caine playing a bodice-ripper novelist hired by a former actor (Mickey Rooney) to ghostwrite his autobiography.

Hodges later directed “The Terminal Man,” “Damien: Omen II,” “Black Rainbow,” and “A Prayer for the Dying” starring Mickey Rourke. Hodges collaborated twice with Clive Owen on “Croupier” and “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead.”  He additionally took over sci-fi film “Flash Gordon” in 1980, replacing Nicolas Roeg. Hodges told BFI in 2021 that he often asked “Flash Gordon” producer Dino De Laurentiis for feedback on his ideas. Related Michael Caine Says He Spent Eight Years Trying Not to Blink Vin Diesel Eyes More Oscar Winners for ‘Fast and Furious’ Finale: Michael Caine and Rita Moreno Related Oscars 2023: Can Anyone Top ‘Maverick’ in Best Sound? Growing Number of Contenders Makes 2023 Best International Feature Race Less Predictable
“At about 5 o’clock in the afternoon, I would say to Dino, ‘I’ve got this idea,’ and he would say, ‘Hey, Mike, I’ll think about it,’” Hodges said. “The following morning, he would come in and tell me my idea. I’d say, ‘Dino, you’re a genius!’ We had this wonderful working relationship once I’d worked that.” Hodges also published the novel “Watching the Wheels Come Off” in 2009. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.