Francis Ford Coppola Receives AFI Life Achievement Award

On an evening saluting the independence and go-for-broke cinematic lifetime of Francis Ford Coppola, Al Pacino maybe summed up why the legendary filmmaker has opted out of accepting many honors over the many years by quoting Coppola himself who as soon as mentioned, “The belongings you do once you’re younger that you just get fired for, are the identical issues that years later, they offer you lifetime achievement awards for.”

Effectively Coppola, lastly on the fiftieth anniversary of the AFI Life Achievement Award dinners, bought essentially the most prestigious one in all all for film makers, and having been to quite a few of those AFI occasions over the many years (Frank Capra’s in 1982 was my first), this heat and really starry night was among the many perfect, and positively probably the greatest attended by different legends and previous AFI honorees themselves. A minimum of seven, rely ’em, seven previous AFI Life Achievement Award laureates weren’t solely available within the Dolby Theatre Saturday evening, all of them bought on stage to sing his praises. Pacino, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Dustin Hoffman, Harrison Ford, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg (the latter pair bookending Coppola at his lengthy desk in the midst of the room) have been all there to cross the torch, however you need to surprise why it took till the fiftieth to offer this man his due, arguably the godfather himself of his era of filmmakers (and lots of of those that acquired this years in the past). Effectively, it wasn’t as a result of the AFI didn’t ask. I’m informed AFI had tried on many events to get him to agree. Eventually he did, and boy, what an evening.

AFI President and CEO Bob Gazzale welcomed everybody and began the night with a remembrance of one of many first graduates of the AFI Conservatory, the late nice David Lynch. However the day didn’t begin out effectively. The sudden rainstorm Saturday morning in components of Southern California took a toll on Hollywood Blvd and actually despatched a river flooding the AFI purple carpet that had already been arrange for the occasion. Organizers, taken unexpectedly, flew into motion, fully trashing the complete soaked carpet, and getting a brand new one in place earlier than the primary of many stars arrived. These included Spielberg, who has been in New York making a film, however to point out his respect for Coppola, didn’t simply ship in a video greeting, however bought a non-public airplane, picked up De Niro and Spike Lee as effectively, and flew in earlier Saturday earlier than instantly flying again so he will be again on set Monday morning.

American Film Institute founder (and creator of this occasion) George Stevens Jr. had tipped me off Friday night on the TCM Traditional Movie Competition occasion honoring him, that Spielberg felt so strongly about being there in individual, and becoming a member of with Lucas to current the award they each had gotten way back, that he simply had to do that. When he bought up on stage on the finish of the night, he mentioned to Coppola, “We’ve come all the way in which up the river to seek out you buddy,” in a wry reference to one of many grasp’s masterpieces, Apocalypse Now. “Francis is a warrior for unbiased artists and at all times championing their causes,” he added earlier than saying The Godfather as “the best American movie ever made.”

However there was a lot extra earlier than we bought to that time. Freeman opened the present portion of the night by telling the viewers he was there regardless of by no means having been in a film written, directed or produced by Coppola, who he famous was nonetheless ever so the unbiased filmmaker. “He could have misplaced thousands and thousands however tonight, f— the bankers!’”

All through the evening, there weren’t simply movie clips, however parts of an interview his daughter Sofia Coppola carried out together with her father that took us via every step of his life and profession from directing Fred Astaire in Finian’s Rainbow in 1967 (the place a younger faculty intern named George Lucas would come by the set to be taught) all the way in which to 2024’s Megalopolis. Sofia couldn’t be on the Dolby nonetheless since she is capturing her personal new movie in London.

The attention-grabbing factor is how few despatched tapes. They have been all there, together with Ron Howard who starred in Lucas’ American Grafitti, which Coppola produced with a purpose to even get this low funds ($700,000) made by the largely untested younger director. The studio (Common) wasn’t thrilled with what they have been seeing. “So after a really early screening, studio executives mentioned to Francis and George, ‘You ought to be embarrassed by this film. It’s too lengthy. We hate the way in which it appears. It appears unprofessional.’ George was shocked, so Francis, with unblinking authority pulled out a checkbook and mentioned, ‘Alright, pay attention. You don’t need the image? Okay, I’ll purchase it again from you proper now. I’ll purchase it again from you right this moment.’ Effectively by no means thoughts he didn’t have the cash, it labored. And the movie went on to make effectively over $100 million {dollars}, which at the moment made it essentially the most worthwhile ROI (return on funding) in Hollywood historical past. In order that’s a producer and that’s Francis Ford Coppola.”

Subsequent up, the night’s first huge standing ovation (after Coppola’s as he was seated) went to De Niro and Pacino who made some transient remarks, together with the aforementioned one from Pacino, and De Niro’s gratitude for not getting solid as Sonny in The Godfather. A clip had been proven from De Niro’s display take a look at and he would have been nice, however Coppola thought he was not fairly proper for the function (James Caan bought it). “Thanks for not casting me in The Godfather, Francis, which meant I used to be obtainable for The Godfather Half II!” he mentioned of the function that gained him his first Oscar.

Harrison Ford arrived to inform how he was a carpenter however decided to be an actor when he mentioned he bought fortunate and landed the function in American Graffiti, and later a smaller one in The Dialog. “Not the half I wished however I bought the half,” he smiled, saying he now felt a part of the household. “After that movie, I constructed one thing for Francis as a result of he employed me once more as a carpenter. I’m not kidding. I used to be putting in a library portico entrance for his places of work, as one does, and George Lucas walks in and says (to Francis), ‘I’m in search of somebody to play Hans Solo,’ and I’m lined in sawdust, carrying my instrument belt, sweeping the ground. Effectively you already know the remaining… He created a world the place the carpenter could possibly be the man. And by the way in which, thanks for Apocalypse Now, the place I performed a man named Colonel Lucas. Delicate!”

Lee talked concerning the affect Coppola had on him from the times he was a pupil at NYU (“I couldn’t get into AFI”), seeing the uncut model of The Cotton Membership with Coppola, and saying he nonetheless has his ticket stub from Apocalypse Now.

Additionally highlighted was Coppola’s dream-like musical One From The Coronary heart, one in all his self-financed American Zoetrope swings for the fences , and early dances with chapter, a film now being reconsidered and watched once more, at the same time as a predecessor to the likes of La La Land. After which a have a look at The Outsiders, one in all many movies the place Coppola rolled the cube with new expertise, together with Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon, Emilio Estevez, and on the Dolby on stage, each Ralph Macchio and C. Thomas Howell. Macchio drew huge laughs with a narrative about borrowing $5 from Coppola on the set however by no means paying it again, or for that matter all the things he owed the director for his profession, till this evening when he informed Coppola to look underneath the centerpiece in entrance of him at his desk. There was a $5 greenback invoice, which bought a smile from Coppola, who promptly handed it to Lucas, who most likely doesn’t want it. Within the viewers was a librarian, Jo Ellen Misakian from Lone Star Elementary College in Fresno, California, who had despatched Coppola a letter (that in some way bought to him) with the passion of her class, who cherished the e book, suggesting he learn S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders in hopes that he may make a film out of it. “Keep gold, Francis,” she mentioned to him repeating a key phrase from the e book that urged Ponyboy to retain his youthful optimism and innocence, “Keep gold.” It was one of many undisputed highlights of the evening.

One other Outsiders star, Diane Lane, was subsequent, and curiously the one feminine participant on stage for the night who talked concerning the 4 movies she has made with Coppola, together with how whereas making Outsiders, all of them had such a great time, they determined to make one other movie on the spot. That film was Rumble Fish.

After Roman Coppola paid tribute to his father for placing him to work on the visible results for Bram Stoker’s Dracula and beginning his profession, it was Dustin Hoffman’s flip, who started by saying, “Phrase has it you turned down plenty of these awards previously.” He additionally mentioned it took some time for Coppola to rent him. “I waited till I used to be 86 so that you can solid me in Megalopolis! It was well worth the wait.”

Relating to that film, it was star Adam Driver who confirmed as much as inform the story of the futuristic and controversial, however unquestionable risk-taking and wild trip of a cinematic journey Coppola had been making an attempt to get made for over 40 years and at last did by financing it himself to the tune of $120 million. Driver mentioned at one level Coppola addressed the solid and crew and mentioned, “We’re not being courageous sufficient.”

Of all of the audio system, I assumed Driver actually summed up greatest simply who this real maverick of a filmmaker is. “Understanding Francis as I do know him now, being courageous isn’t such a shocking word in case you think about the supply. You may choose any part of Francis’ work, open it up, and discover bravery, whether or not or not it’s combating the studio over cuts of The Godfather; forming American Zoetrope; making Apocalypse Now, once more together with his personal cash; giving Ellie (his late spouse Eleanor Coppola) a digicam and saying ‘shoot what you need’; working a studio that ended up bankrupting him; hiring Marlon Brando; defending Al Pacino; breaking all 4 of his Oscars by throwing them out of a window—I’m undecided that’s particularly courageous but it surely actually is passionate [ed note: he actually has five]; transferring into the jungle and beginning a lodge; spending $120 million on a bit of artwork and never letting the cash dictate the content material of the movie,” Driver listed for the group. “This can be a principled life, and for a 12 months in our tradition the place the significance of the humanities is minimized and our trade is seemingly out within the open, that the one measure to evaluate a movie’s success is just by how a lot cash it makes, I grasp on to people like Francis for inspiration who reside although their convictions, via huge strikes, all in service of pushing the medium ahead. Francis took $120 million {dollars} and created a singular gesture for what he thought movie could possibly be, and I feel that’s fairly nice.”

The precise award to Coppola was preceded by an orchestra on stage with Josh Groban, who sang, all in Italian, a stupendous model of the immortal theme from The Godfather. Spielberg added to his remarks about seeing a five-hour reduce of Apocalypse Now with different filmmakers invited to offer their ideas, and Lucas recounted the important thing lesson he discovered from his American Graffiti producer. “Don’t be afraid of leaping off cliffs. I’ve lived by that my whole life,” he mentioned whereas confirming Coppola was certainly the primary cinema pupil to make it huge and show the value of that schooling.

As for Coppola, he was transient however charming in his acceptance (in spite of everything, we had seen him speak about his profession all evening in that interview with Sofia). He talked about his childhood and remembrances of rising up earlier than addressing this neighborhood of those that toil in the identical fields he does. “(I see) all the attractive faces are welcoming me again as a result of I’m, and can at all times be, nothing a couple of of you.”

Keep gold certainly, Francis Ford Coppola.

The night earned a report $2.5 million for AFI and can be broadcast on TNT on June 18 at 10pm ET/PT with an encore on TCM July 31 at 8pm ET/PT.