Francis Ford Coppola Bags AFI Life Achievement Award
Veteran filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola receives the 50th AFI Life Achievement Award, celebrated by Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Robert De Niro, and Al Pacino. A heartfelt night honouring the legendary director behind The Godfather and Apocalypse Now.
Well, knock me down with a feather — Francis Ford Coppola, the grand old duke of Hollywood himself, has been honoured with the 50th AFI Life Achievement Award, the American Film Institute’s official Instagram page chirped on Sunday. And about time too, if you ask me.
“‘All the beautiful faces are welcoming me back because I am and will always be nothing more than one of you,’” Francis Ford Coppola said as he clutched the prestigious gong, looking every inch the proud grandfather at a school play. The organisers posted a rather heartwarming snap of him beaming like a Cheshire cat, surrounded by an ocean of admiration and, one assumes, some very expensive suits.
The evening wasn’t short on stardust either. None other than Steven Spielberg and George Lucas — you know, the blokes responsible for half the world’s childhoods — presented Francis Ford Coppola with the award. Spielberg, who first crossed paths with Coppola back in the Swinging Sixties, dubbed him “fearless,” a right compliment if there ever was one. “You’re a warrior for independent artists,” he said, before adding that Coppola is as open to fresh ideas as a hungry Labrador is to biscuits.
Spielberg went on to call The Godfather “the greatest American film ever made,” a statement that would make even the most hardened film critic nod sagely over their gin and tonic. Meanwhile, Lucas, not to be outdone, confessed that Francis Ford Coppola is his “hero” — which, coming from the creator of Star Wars, is no small beer.
Coppola, for his part, didn’t spend the night resting on his laurels. In his speech, he waxed lyrical about home, friendship and all the beautiful mugs who helped him along the way. “This place that created me isn’t really a place at all,” he mused, sounding for all the world like a wise old owl who’s seen a few winters.
The lovefest didn’t stop there. Up trotted The Godfather alumni Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, both looking like they’d walked straight off the set of a very posh family reunion. “You changed my life,” De Niro said, as heartfelt as a best man at a wedding after a few too many glasses of bubbly. Pacino, never one to understate, thanked Coppola for believing in him “even more than I believed in myself” — a touching sentiment, if ever there was one.
The tributes poured in thick and fast, with a veritable who’s who of Hollywood tipping their hats — Adam Driver, Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, Dustin Hoffman, Ron Howard, Diane Lane, Spike Lee, Ralph Macchio… frankly, if there was a famous face missing, they were probably stuck in traffic.
Coppola, famed for turning the 1970s into a golden age of cinema with The Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now, remains a towering figure in film. Though, to be fair, not everything he touches turns to gold these days. His latest offering, Megalopolis, had its big moment at the Cannes Film Festival, only to be met with the sort of mixed reception usually reserved for soggy chips — clocking in at a rather unfortunate 49% on Rotten Tomatoes and scraping a D+ CinemaScore.
Still, every dog has his day, and Sunday was very much Coppola’s. Awards may come and go, but few can hold a candle to the man who made us an offer we simply couldn’t refuse.
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