Pacino, De Niro, Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, and More Pay Tribute to Francis Ford Coppola

An A-list staff of filmmakers and actors became out in improve of Francis Ford Coppola on Saturday night time, because the mythical director won the 50th AFI Lifetime Achievement Award. At 86, Coppola joins an elite staff of filmmakers who’ve won the consideration that incorporates Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, and Mel Brooks. The rite was once a birthday celebration of Coppola’s occupation, the six many years over which he essentially reshaped American filmmaking.

The gala felt like a homecoming for Coppola, with Adam Driver, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Spike Lee, Harrison Ford, Diane Lane, and Ralph Macchio coming to kiss the hoop. Gia and Roman Coppola had been there to pay tribute to their circle of relatives patriarch, even though Sofia Coppola, Francis’s most famed offspring was once no longer in attendance. Instead, she gave the impression by means of a video interview along with her father that was once interspersed all the way through the rite. Francis joked along with his daughter in regards to the newspaper she printed at his Zoetrope Studios, named the Dingbat News, which incorporated a gossip column that ceaselessly printed behind-the-scenes secrets and techniques.

AFI Lifetime Achievement Award recipients Steven Spielberg and George Lucas offered Coppola along with his award. “The Godfather, for me, is the greatest American film ever made,” Spielberg advised Coppola. “You are peerless. You’ve taken what has come before and redefined the canon of American film, and you’ve inspired a generation of storytellers who want to make you proud of their work. And I always want to make you proud of my work,” he mentioned prior to introducing Lucas to the level. “You rounded up a bunch of young film students, and we moved to San Francisco, hoping to beat the system. And we did,” Lucas mentioned. “We had no rules. We wrote them, with you holding the pen. Thank you for creating an era of filmmakers who loved the movies.”

Harrison Ford and George LucasBy Jay L. Clendenin/Shutterstock for AFI.

Coppola was once described because the Godfather of contemporary cinema—no longer only a director however a manufacturer on Lucas’s American Graffiti, a mentor for Spielberg, and an recommend for actors like Pacino, De Niro, and Ford. Ford advised the target market how he met Lucas whilst operating as a chippie for Coppola. There, he met Lucas, who was once on the lookout for the fitting Han Solo. Lucas was once offered to Ford, “covered in sawdust, wearing my tool belt, sweeping the floor. You might know the rest,” mentioned Ford. “But I’m here tonight because of the community that Francis nurtured.”

Harrison Ford and Robert De NiroBy Jay L. Clendenin/Shutterstock for AFI.

Pacino and De Niro spoke about their revel in operating on The Godfather. “None of us were fired, but some of us got pretty close. I got the closest,” Pacino joked. “Francis fought for us all the time. It could have gotten him fired. Now, years later, here we all are to celebrate him.” De Niro thanked Coppola for no longer casting him within the unique Godfather, permitting him to play Pacino’s father in The Godfather II. A prevalent theme of the night time was once Coppola’s decision to stay to his imaginative and prescient and improve the actors that he forged in his movies.

Adam DriverBy Jay L. Clendenin/Shutterstock for AFI.

The lightest second of the night time got here from Driver, who starred in Coppola’s most up-to-date (and divisive) movie, Megalopolis. Driver mentioned the most productive piece of route he ever won got here from Coppola. “We’re not being brave enough,” Coppola advised the Megalopolis forged and staff. “It was well documented that he was spending $120 million of his own money to make the film,” mentioned Driver. “I’m mad enough if I spent $5 on a cup of coffee and it’s not hot enough—let alone $120 million and giving it to a bunch of actors, and on day one telling them to ‘be brave.'”

Driver praised Coppola for no longer letting the financials dictate the content material of his movies. “For a year when the importance of the arts is being minimized,” mentioned Driver, “and our industry is only judging a film’s success by how much money it makes, I hang on to people like Francis for inspiration.”

When Coppola in spite of everything took the level to simply accept his award, his remarks had been temporary and allegorical. He spoke about Hollywood as “the old neighborhood where I grew up. Everything around me is so familiar and yet, it’s all changed.” He thanked his circle of relatives, a few of whom had been within the target market. “I am, and will always be, nothing more than one of you,” he mentioned to his fellow filmmakers within the target market.

Jack Black, Spike Lee and Jared Hess.By Jay L. Clendenin/Shutterstock for AFI.

The same old studio heavy-hitters had been within the target market as neatly. Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos sat on the middle desk with director Spike Lee by means of his facet. Co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment Alan Bergman held courtroom at a close-by desk. The match additionally incorporated a different remembrance of David Lynch, a graduate of AFI in 1970, who died in January. AFI President and CEO Bob Gazzale offered a video from Lynch that he filmed when the college celebrated its 40th anniversary. In his loud, reedy tone, Lynch declared he “loved AFI,” a commentary was once met by means of thunderous applause from the target market.