Robert De Niro and Al Pacino fete Francis Ford Coppola at Kennedy Center Honors

Robert De Niro and Al Pacino were among those who celebrated the work of director Francis Ford Coppola at the 2024 Kennedy Center Honors in Washington D.C. on Sunday night.

The Godfather filmmaker and his fellow honorees - The Grateful Dead, singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt, jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and New York theatre The Apollo - were celebrated at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday following the medallion presentation ceremony on Saturday.

During the gala event, De Niro took to the stage to deliver a tribute, saying he wouldn't have a career if Coppola didn't cast him in The Godfather: Part II.

"And it's not just me. Francis generously brings all of us into his family, into his world, into his dreams. And what dreams they are. Beautiful. Epic. Impossible," he said, reports Billboard.

Pacino, who starred in The Godfather franchise, called Coppola a trailblazer willing to break the first rule of Hollywood - never invest your own money into your films.

Fellow directors Martin Scorsese and George Lucas also gave speeches, with the Star Wars creator praising Coppola for inspiring others to "creatively jump off cliffs".

The Apocalypse Now filmmaker also received tributes from his famous family - his sister Talia Shire, nephew Jason Schwartzman and granddaughter Gia Coppola.

Elsewhere in the ceremony, Miles Teller, Chloe Sevigny and talk show host David Letterman paid tribute to The Grateful Dead, while Maggie Rogers and Leon Bridges performed a cover of Friend of the Devil and Sturgill Simpson delivered a rendition of Ripple.

During the tribute to Raitt, Dave Matthews and Emmylou Harris sang the duet Angel from Montgomery and Brandi Carlile performed I Can't Make You Love Me with Sheryl Crow on piano. Crow also gave a speech, as did Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Meanwhile, Andy García, who played Sandoval in the biopic For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story, heaped praise on the jazz musician, and comedian Dave Chappelle celebrated The Apollo, the first performance venue to receive the honour.