Posted by Larry Gleeson
FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA HONORED
AT 50TH AFI LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD GALA TRIBUTE
Robert De Niro, Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, Dustin Hoffman, Ron Howard, Spike Lee, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Al Pacino together with Household Members Gia Coppola and Roman Coppola Celebrated His Legacy
Particular to Premiere on TNT on June 18 at 10:00 pm ET/PT
Gala Raises Over $2.5 Million to Help
AFI’s Training Programs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Los Angeles, CA, April 26, 2025 – The American Movie Institute (AFI) offered the fiftieth AFI Life Achievement Award to Francis Ford Coppola on Saturday, April 26, at a Gala Tribute on the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, surrounded by icons within the leisure group. The televised particular, THE AFI LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: A TRIBUTE TO FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA, will premiere on TNT on June 18 at 10:00 pm ET/PT, with an encore airing on TCM on July 31 at 8:00 pm ET/PT. This marks the tenth yr the Emmy®-winning AFI Life Achievement Award particular will air on TNT.
The night started with welcome remarks from Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO, and included tributes to Coppola’s illustrious profession and his affect on filmmaking from Robert De Niro, Adam Driver, Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, Dustin Hoffman, Ron Howard, C. Thomas Howell, Diane Lane, Spike Lee, Ralph Macchio and Al Pacino, plus members of the family Gia Coppola and Roman Coppola and a efficiency by Josh Groban of “Brucia La Terra” from THE GODFATHER, CODA: THE DEATH OF MICHAEL CORLEONE. Additionally included within the present had been video clips of an unique interview, performed by his daughter, Oscar®-winning filmmaker Sofia Coppola.
In presenting the award, Steven Spielberg, recipient of the twenty third AFI Life Achievement Award mentioned, “you may have taken what got here earlier than and redefined the canon of American movie” and George Lucas, recipient of the thirty third AFI Life Achievement Award, commented, “we hoped to beat the system, and we did. We had no guidelines. We wrote the foundations with you holding the pen. Thanks for creating an period of filmmakers that liked the films.” Coppola accepted the award to a standing ovation. In his acceptance speech, he mentioned, “all the gorgeous faces are welcoming me again as a result of I’m and can all the time be nothing multiple of you.”
The occasion additionally included a particular remembrance of David Lynch (AFI Class of 1970) – who handed away in January of this yr, and who had been the Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal inaugural recipient in 1991. The medal is awarded to an Alum of both the AFI Conservatory or AFI DWW+, who greatest embodies the qualities of Schaffner: expertise, style, dedication and dedication to high quality filmmaking.
The occasion concluded with attendees receiving an unique AFI commemorative tribute e book about Coppola’s profession. Company had been additionally launched to the brand new on-line tribute web site chronicling Coppola’s life and profession at http://AFI.com/coppola.
Over $2.5 million raised on the AFI Life Achievement Award Gala will help instructional applications on the American Movie Institute, a nonprofit group. To donate to AFI, go to AFI.com/help.
The AFI Life Achievement Award, established by the AFI Board of Trustees in 1973, is offered to a single honoree every year primarily based on the next standards as mandated via a decision handed by the AFI Board of Trustees: “The recipient ought to be one whose expertise has in a elementary manner superior the movie artwork; whose accomplishment has been acknowledged by students, critics, skilled friends and most people; and whose work has stood the check of time.”
GALLERY PHOTOS
The official sponsor of the fiftieth AFI Life Achievement Award Gala dinner was Canva, the all-in-one visible communication platform. The official water sponsor was FIJI Water.
AFI Life Achievement Award Recipients
1973 John Ford
1974 James Cagney
1975 Orson Welles
1976 William Wyler
1977 Bette Davis
1978 Henry Fonda
1979 Alfred Hitchcock
1980 James Stewart
1981 Fred Astaire
1982 Frank Capra
1983 John Huston
1984 Lillian Gish
1985 Gene Kelly
1986 Billy Wilder
1987 Barbara Stanwyck
1988 Jack Lemmon
1989 Gregory Peck
1990 David Lean
1991 Kirk Douglas
1992 Sidney Poitier
1993 Elizabeth Taylor
1994 Jack Nicholson
1995 Steven Spielberg
1996 Clint Eastwood
1997 Martin Scorsese
1998 Robert Sensible
1999 Dustin Hoffman
2000 Harrison Ford
2001 Barbra Streisand
2002 Tom Hanks
2003 Robert De Niro
2004 Meryl Streep
2005 George Lucas
2006 Sean Connery
2007 Al Pacino
2008 Warren Beatty
2009 Michael Douglas
2010 Mike Nichols
2011 Morgan Freeman
2012 Shirley MacLaine
2013 Mel Brooks
2014 Jane Fonda
2015 Steve Martin
2016 John Williams
2017 Diane Keaton
2018 George Clooney
2019 Denzel Washington
2022 Julie Andrews
2024 Nicole Kidman
Be taught extra at AFI.com.
In regards to the American Movie Institute (AFI)
The American Movie Institute (AFI) is a nonprofit group with a mandate to champion the shifting picture as an artwork kind. Established in 1967, AFI launched the primary complete historical past of American movie and sparked the motion for movie preservation in america. In 1969, AFI opened the doorways of the AFI Conservatory, a graduate-level program to coach narrative filmmakers. The Conservatory, which counts Deniese Davis, Affonso Gonçalves, Susannah Grant, Matthew Libatique, David Lynch, Melina Matsoukas and Rachel Morrison as Alumni, is ranked as one of many prime movie colleges in America. AFI’s enduring traditions embrace the AFI Life Achievement Award, which honors the masters for work that has stood the check of time; AFI AWARDS, which celebrates the inventive ensembles of probably the most excellent display tales of the yr; and scholarly efforts such because the AFI Catalog of Function Movies and the AFI Archive that protect movie historical past for future generations. AFI exhibition applications embrace AFI FEST Offered by Canva and year-round exhibition on the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Heart in Maryland. AFI Film Membership is a vacation spot for film lovers from world wide to have a good time and interact with the artwork kind every single day. Different pioneering applications embrace workshops aimed toward elevating rising storytellers and know-how, together with AFI DWW+ and the AFI Cinematography Intensive Workshop. Examine all of those applications and extra at AFI.com and comply with AFI on social media at:
Fb.com/
About TNT
TNT, a Warner Bros. Discovery model, is watched by extra individuals than every other cable community and recognized for large, lean-forward tv that takes viewers on a thrill experience of electrifying tales, dynamic characters and premium occasions. TNT is residence to a few of tv’s hottest sports activities franchises and scripted originals together with “The Librarians: The Subsequent Chapter.” TNT additionally presents primetime specials and sports activities protection, together with the NHL, NBA and NCAA Division I Males’s Basketball Championships. Web site: www.tntdrama.com
About Turner Traditional Films (TCM)
Turner Traditional Films (TCM) is a two-time Peabody Award-winning community that presents basic movies, uncut and commercial-free, from the biggest movie libraries on this planet highlighting “The place Then Meets Now.” TCM options insights from Primetime host Ben Mankiewicz together with hosts Alicia Malone, Dave Karger, Jacqueline Stewart and Eddie Muller, plus interviews with a variety of particular visitors and serves as the last word film lover vacation spot. With three many years as a number one authority in basic movie, TCM presents critically acclaimed sequence like The Necessities and Reframed together with annual programming occasions like 31 Days of Oscar® and Summer time Underneath the Stars. TCM additionally straight connects with film followers via common occasions such because the annual TCM Traditional Movie Pageant in Hollywood and the TCM Traditional Cruise. As well as, TCM produces the wildly profitable podcast “The Plot Thickens.” TCM hosts a wealth of fabric on-line at tcm.com and thru the Watch TCM cellular app. Followers can even take pleasure in a basic film expertise on the TCM hub on Max.
Press contact:
American Movie Institute
Shari Mesulam, Shari@themesulamgroup.com
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