Francis Ford Coppola was awarded the 50th AFI Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Film Institute (AFI). The ceremony was held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles as the industry’s stalwarts gathered to celebrate the American cinema. Francis Ford Coppola was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award honouring his contributions to cinema. 

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Francis Ford Coppola gets Lifetime Achievement Award

Considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Francis received a huge round of applause as he was bestowed with the honour. Francis is a five-time Oscar winner and is known for his films like The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Conversation, Apocalypse Now and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. 

Filmmakers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas presented Coppola with the award, praising his fearlessness and openness to ideas. Steven Spielberg called Francis "a warrior for independent artists" and cited The Godfather as "the greatest American film ever made."

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George Lucas, who considers Coppola his hero, recalled their lifelong bond and Coppola's advice to "not be afraid of jumping off cliffs," as quoted by Variety.

The AFI ceremony featured heartfelt tributes from actors Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and others, who credited Coppola with changing their lives and careers.

In his acceptance speech, Francis Ford Coppola said, "I am and will always be nothing more than one of you."

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Francis Coppola's last film was a dud at the box office

Francis's last film was Megalopolis. It had a star-studded cast that included Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel, Giancarlo Esposito, Shia LaBeouf, Aubrey Plaza, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, and Jason Schwartzman. The film didn’t do exceptionally well at the box office.