Putin Praises Coppola's Films

MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the works of director Francis Ford Coppola as the two met for tea at the Kremlin before Coppola received a film award. "In Russia your works are well known and highly valued," Putin told Coppola during a televised portion of the meeting Saturday. He said he was not just referring to "The Godfather" -- which is extremely popular in Russia -- but also to films "that so accurately tell of the horrors of war." Coppola, in turn, lauded Putin's speech marking the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by Soviet troops, during which Putin said he was ashamed of anti-Semitism's existence in Russia. "Excellent speech," Coppola said. "But in person you look much younger than you did on TV." Coppola was in Moscow to receive a Golden Eagle award from Russia's National Academy of Cinematic Arts and Sciences for his contribution to world cinematography. Coppola gave Putin a DVD of "Lost in Translation," for which his daughter, Sofia Coppola, won an Oscar for best original screenplay in 2004. Coppola told Putin that both he and his daughter had won their first Oscar at age 32, and the Russian president responded, "Now your granddaughter must do it."