Coppola receives AFI Life Achievement Award; 'The Godfather' stars Pacino, De Niro pay tribute

Los Angeles: The American Film Institute has honoured master filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola with the prestigious Life Achievement Award, the highest accolade bestowed by the institute.

Coppola, whose credits include The Godfather franchise, Apocalypse Now and Megalopolis, was presented with the award by his contemporaries and acclaimed filmmakers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, on Saturday, according to the entertainment news outlet The Hollywood Reporter.

During the ceremony, veteran actors Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, who starred in The Godfather films based on Mario Puzo's novel, thanked the 86-year-old filmmaker for changing their lives.

Pacino, 85, said he was on the verge of getting fired from the first part of "The Godfather (1972), but Coppola stood by him throughout.

Back then, studio Paramount Pictures wasn't in favour of having the actor, who played Micheal Corleone, the unwilling heir to the Corleone mafia family earlier headed by Marlon Brando's Vito Corleone, in the blockbuster film.

"You know, none of us were fired from 'The Godfather' but some of us were pretty close, I was the closest, yes. And Francis just fought for us all the time, he fought for his film and his vision by which he always does... It could have got him fired, it could have all of us fired, but it didn't happen.

"Now years later, here we all are to celebrate. Thanks, Francis, for believing in me more than I believed in myself. I am eternally grateful and honoured to be a part of your Godfather family," said Pacino, who later starred in two more installments which were released in 1974 and 1990.

De Niro, who won the best supporting actor Oscar for playing the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather - Part 2, expressed gratitude to Coppola for not casting him in the first of "The Godfather".

"It was the best job I ever never got and hence I was available for "The Godfather-Part 2'...Francis you changed my career, you changed my life. We are here today because of you," the 81-year-old added.

In his praise for Coppola, Spielberg called The Godfather the "greatest American film ever made".

"On one hand, you are a warrior for independent artists, you always champion their causes, but also, and always, you’re fearless in how open you are to ideas, opinions and inspiration," he further said.

"When I was 22, he taught me, don’t be afraid of jumping off cliffs. And I’ve lived with that the rest of my life, although I don’t go to the higher level that he does," added Lucas.

Other Hollywood celebrities who spoke of their admiration for Coppola at the event were his collaborators Adam Driver, Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, Dustin Hoffman, Ron Howard, C. Thomas Howell, Diane Lane, Spike Lee and Ralph Macchio.

Previous recipients of the AFI's Life Achievement Award, include Orson Welles, Bette Davis, Alfred Hitchcock, Gene Kelly, Sidney Poitier, Spielberg, Meryl Streep, Denzel Washington and Nicole Kidman, among others.