Francis Ford Coppola has nothing but kind words for Werner Herzog!
On Wednesday, August 27, the five-time Academy Award–winning director, writer, and producer graced the opening ceremony of the Venice Film Festival in Italy.
During his appearance, Coppola honored his friend and fellow filmmaker Werner Herzog with a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.
“I come here to praise Werner Herzog, and it’s not enough to praise Werner Herzog,” he began before presenting the award.
Coppola continued, “One must celebrate the fact that someone like he can actually exist. “He not only can fill the pages of an encyclopedia, Werner is one. If Werner has limits, I don’t know what they are.”
“Werner’s life and his very existence sends a challenge to everyone out there: Top me if you can. And all of us truly wonder if anyone ever will. Werner, I will eat my hat if anyone comes who can do it,” he added.
Herzog, who is known for films like Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo, also reciprocated the love to Coppola while accepting the prestigious award from him.
The Godfather director himself received Venice’s Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 1992.
Francis Ford Coppola’s appearance marked his first since undergoing a heart procedure in Rome earlier in the month.
