Francis Ford Coppola on Francis Ford Coppola at AFI Life Achievement Award
Francis Ford Coppola’s fearless spirit was entrance and middle as he obtained the AFI’s fiftieth Life Achievement Award, and nobody captured it higher than Adam Driver.
At Saturday’s glittering gala on the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, Driver paid a heartfelt tribute to “one of my cinematic heroes,” applauding Coppola’s daring imaginative and prescient, particularly together with his ardour challenge Megalopolis — a movie he self-funded after dreaming it up means again in 1983.
“A theater director who brought his process to film and revolutionized how we think about cinema, and certainly how we make it,” mentioned Driver.
“His movies, for some, are the yardstick to be measured by, and at the very least, examples of the possibilities in film, like in my opinion, Megalopolis.”
Driver additionally recalled a second on set that completely sums up Coppola’s strategy to creativity.
“We’re not being brave enough,” Coppola instructed the solid and crew on the primary day of filming. And from the best way Driver described it, these phrases didn’t simply float round — they landed laborious.
Praising Coppola’s dedication, Driver shared, “spending $120 million on a piece of art, and not letting the money dictate the content of the film. And believe me, I was there. There was no talk about how he could make this more commercial.”
In a world the place field workplace numbers appear to reign supreme, Driver made it clear why Coppola’s unwavering dedication issues a lot.
“This is a principled life, and for a year in our culture when the importance of the arts is minimized, and our industry is seemingly out in the open, then the only metric to judge a film’s success is by how much money it makes. I hang on to individuals like Francis for inspiration, who live through their convictions, through big moves, all in service of pushing the medium forward.”
Driver summed it up beautifully, saying, “Francis took $120 million and created a singular gesture for what he thought film could be, and I think that’s pretty great. That kind of move has an aftershock that certainly will be felt in his films, will be felt throughout time, and is obviously felt in this room.
So, I know you have complicated feelings about awarding Francis, but to echo what everyone else has been saying, you more than deserve this moment. Congratulation on all you’ve achieved, and I’m honoured to be here to celebrate you, your generosity and your bravery.”
Although Megalopolis didn’t precisely appeal critics and solely introduced in $14.3 million worldwide, Coppola’s impression on cinema is simple.
With masterpieces like The Godfather, The Godfather Half II, and Apocalypse Now etched into AFI’s 100 Years…100 Films record, it’s protected to say his legacy is sealed — courageous strikes, massive goals, and all.
