Godfather director Coppola bags lifetime achievement award
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Francis Ford Coppola (right) receives the 50th AFI Life Achievement Award from George Lucas (left) and Steven Spielberg on April 26.
PHOTO: REUTERS
HOLLYWOOD – Multiple Oscar-winner Francis Ford Coppola picked up a lifetime achievement award on April 26 at a star-studded ceremony, which praised his “fearless” attitude to film-making.
The 86-year-old director of classics including The Godfather (1972 to 1990) and Apocalypse Now (1979) received a trophy from fellow film-making legends Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, who lauded him for fighting the system and redefining American cinema.
Lucas, creator of Star Wars (1977 to 2019), recalled Coppola telling him “don’t be afraid of jumping off cliffs”, while Spielberg hailed the “fearless” director and said The Godfather was “the greatest American film ever made”.
“You have taken what came before and redefined the canon of American film, and in so doing, you’ve inspired a generation of storytellers,” Spielberg added.
The award was given by the prestigious American Film Institute (AFI), which produces annual lists of the best films ever made and is seen as one of the industry’s most respected bodies.
Film-maker Francis Ford Coppola at the AFI Life Achievement Award Ceremony honouring him in Hollywood on April 26.
PHOTO: AFP
Taking the podium at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre in front of film veterans including actors Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman, Coppola said that winning the award felt like coming home.
“Now I understand here, this place that created me, my home, isn’t really a place at all, but you, friends, colleagues, teachers, playmates, family, neighbours, all the beautiful faces are welcoming me back,” Coppola said.
The six-time Academy Award winner was praised by the AFI as a “dreamer”, a “pioneer” and also a “maverick”.
Coppola, who famously threw five of his Oscars out a window in an outburst while making Apocalypse Now, heard emotional tributes from peers including De Niro, Al Pacino, Diane Lane, Harrison Ford and Ralph Macchio, who thanked the film-maker for taking a chance on them.
Actor Dustin Hoffman speaking onstage during the AFI Life Achievement Award Ceremony honouring Francis Ford Coppola in Hollywood on April 26.
PHOTO: AFP
“When the studio wanted stars, you fought for actors,” said Hoffman, who was the star of Rain Man (1988).
He joked that Coppola launched so many young actors’ careers, but cast him only in 2024’s sci-fi drama Megalopolis when Hoffman was 86.
The independent AFI has honoured the likes of Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Jack Nicholson and Pacino in previous years.
Actors Al Pacino (left) and Robert De Niro speaking onstage during the AFI Life Achievement Award Ceremony honouring Francis Ford Coppola in Hollywood on April 26.
PHOTO: AFP
Pacino joined De Niro to pay tribute to Coppola, who directed them in the second instalment of The Godfather trilogy.
Coppola, who battled studio executives to make the film according to his own vision, told AFP that there is no art without adventure.
“I think making art without risk is like making babies without sex. It’s possible, but it’s not the best way to do it,” he said. AFP
