Francis Ford Coppola To Receive £100K Arts Prize, Does He Really Need The Cash?

Francis Ford Coppola is set to be honoured in one of the world's biggest arts prize-givings at a presentation ceremony next month. The Oscar-winning director will be one of five awarded this year's Praemium Imperiale, a Japanese arts prize that's worth 15 million yen (£95K/$151K).

Looking ahead to the future, Coppola is sceptical of the future of money-making in art, saying "as we enter into a new age, maybe art will be free. Maybe the students are right. They should be able to download music and movies. I'm going to be shot for saying this. But who said art has to cost money? And therefore, who says artists have to make money?"

By his own admission, Coppola is still learning about cinema so perhaps the director, who believes in self-financing his films, will invest in new cinematic technology? Whatever he does with the dosh, with a work ethic like Coppola's, it's pretty safe to say he won't squander it.