Spielberg, De Niro, Freeman praise Francis Ford Coppola as he accepts the AFI Life Achievement Award

LOS ANGELES – Steven Spielberg proclaimed “The Godfather” the “greatest American movie ever made,” Robert De Niro teasingly bemoaned being formed successful the sequel and not the archetypal and Harrison Ford fought backmost tears reflecting connected his relation successful the 1974 film, “The Conversation.”

At the halfway of it each was Francis Ford Coppola, who connected Saturday received the AFI Life Achievement Award astatine a ceremonial astatine Dolby Theatre that brought unneurotic legendary stars from a seemingly bygone epoch of cinema,

A founding AFI trustee, Coppola’s designation from the enactment was a benignant of afloat ellipse infinitesimal for the “Apocalypse Now” director.

“When I was a kid determination was the Oscars and that was it. Now they’re going to person an grant amusement for the champion grant show,” the 86-year-old said connected the reddish carpet up of the show. “But this is simply a small antithetic due to the fact that it’s a idiosyncratic designation of the radical that you’ve known each your beingness and your colleagues implicit galore years, truthful it’s similar a homecoming successful a way.”

“You, sir, are peerless. You person taken what came earlier and redefined the canon of American film,” Spielberg said.

Coppola sat betwixt Spielberg and George Lucas, arsenic actors and chap filmmakers similar Spike Lee, Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino and Morgan Freeman took turns gushing implicit the Oscar winner.

“Dreamer of dreams connected a dime, teller of tales that outgo and mislaid millions. But tonight, (expletive) the bankers and the bank,” Freeman said to laughs and cheers.

Lucas, Coppola’s longtime person and colleague, presented him with the award. The brace person known each different for decades and cofounded their ain accumulation company, American Zoetrope, successful 1969.

“You rounded up a clump of young movie students, gathered america together. We moved to San Francisco, hoping to bushed the system. And we did. Like the filmmakers from the dawn of the creation form, we had nary rules. We wrote them, and you were holding the pen,” Lucas said.

Coppola was mostly stoic passim the ceremonial arsenic Hollywood sang his praises — until helium accepted the grant astatine the extremity of the night. He beamed arsenic helium approached the signifier and thanked the room, which was filled with immoderate of his household members arsenic good arsenic multigenerational A-listers.

“Now I recognize here, this spot that created me, my home, isn’t truly a spot astatine all, but you — friends, colleagues, teachers, playmates, family, neighbors, each the beauteous faces are welcoming maine back,” helium said. “I americium and volition ever beryllium thing much than 1 of you.”

Coppola was the 50th recipient of the grant archetypal handed retired to John Ford successful 1973.

Guests were served vino from the Francis Ford Coppola Winery and aft meal — existent to his Italian practice — a trio of cannolis. Actors who person worked with Coppola painted a unified representation of him arsenic a director, reminiscing connected however they were invited to enactment and educated astir movie successful a mode that empowered them.

“He’s precise professorial. He talks astir past and things and adjacent older movies successful the country he’s inspired by,” said “The Godfather III” prima Andy Garcia. “You spell into moving with him successful a movie, and you spell successful seeking an associate’s grade and you would locomotion retired with a master’s.”

Coppola past twelvemonth released his long-in improvement “Megalopolis,” a Roman epic acceptable successful a modern New York. The movie drew mixed reviews from critics and flopped with audiences. Coppola, though, has maintained helium was compelled to marque “Megalopolis” arsenic an artist, not arsenic a businessman. He self-financed the film.

“For a twelvemonth successful our civilization erstwhile the value of the arts is minimized, and our manufacture is seemingly retired successful the unfastened that the lone metric to justice a film’s occurrence is by however overmuch wealth it makes, I bent connected to individuals similar Francis for inspiration, who unrecorded done their convictions,” said Adam Driver, who starred successful the film.

Last year’s AFI honoree was Nicole Kidman. Other caller recipients see John Williams, Mel Brooks, Denzel Washington and Julie Andrews.

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