At the Dolby Theatre on Saturday night, Francis Ford Coppola—director of The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, and The Conversation—was celebrated with the prestigious AFI Life Achievement Award. The evening felt like a grand reunion of Hollywood royalty, with legends like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Al Pacino, Harrison Ford, and Robert De Niro all paying tribute to the 86-year-old filmmaker.
Spielberg declared The Godfather the “greatest American film ever made,” while De Niro humorously lamented being cast in the sequel and not the original. Harrison Ford grew emotional recalling his role in The Conversation. Throughout the night, Coppola remained composed until his heartfelt acceptance speech, where he described the moment as a “homecoming.”
Coppola, a founding AFI trustee, said, “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, neighbors, all the beautiful faces are welcoming me back. I am and will always be nothing more than one of you.”
Lucas, who cofounded American Zoetrope with Coppola in 1969, presented the award, reminiscing, “You rounded up a bunch of young film students… We wrote the rules, and you were holding the pen.”
The evening included wine from the Francis Ford Coppola Winery and a dinner capped off with cannolis—a nod to Coppola’s Italian roots. Actors and collaborators like Morgan Freeman, Andy Garcia, and Spike Lee shared stories about Coppola’s professorial approach to filmmaking, describing him as a mentor who deeply educated his actors on film history and storytelling.
Although Coppola’s latest film, Megalopolis, received mixed reviews and struggled at the box office, stars like Adam Driver praised him for staying true to his artistic convictions in an industry increasingly driven by financial metrics.
Francis Ford Coppola becomes the 50th recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award, joining a prestigious list that includes John Ford, Julie Andrews, Mel Brooks, and Nicole Kidman.
