George Lucas's moving Honorary Palme d'Or presented by Coppola (video)
The two friends were reunited during the Cannes 2024 closing ceremony for an unforgettable sequence.
The closing ceremony of 77th Cannes Film Festival was rich in emotions, with Sean Baker's Palme d'Or for Anora who dedicated the sex workers, the intense speech of Mohammad Rasoulof who received the Jury Prize or the collective interpretation prize of the actresses ofEmilia Perezby Jacques Audiard, including Karla Sofía Gascón who never wanted to let go of the microphone.
The Cannes 2024 winners
But the strongest moment was undoubtedly the Honorary Palme d'Or for George Lucas. Welcomed by a memorable 3-minute standing ovation, the creator of the Star Wars saga saw Francis Ford Coppolaleft the competition empty-handed with Megalopolis, arrive on stage to present him with the distinction. The two friends warmly embraced each other, before the director of the Godfather launches into a vibrant praise of Lucas:
“I remember that sad day when Flash Gordon's beneficiaries told him that he wasn't important enough to be entrusted with this famous character who had brightened his childhood, then he stared at me and said: 'fine I'll make my own movie and I'll call it Star Battle or Star Wars', or something like that. And that's what he did, risking everything he had. Congratulations my dear George. Not only are your friends proud of you, but the whole world is there to pay tribute to you.”
On Friday, George Lucas was already making waves in Cannes with a 1h30 masterclass where he looked back on his entire career, from THX1138 has Star WarsPassing by American Graffiti. First was there:
George Lucas: “You shouldn't ask the public what they want”
