Legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola tells PEOPLE that it's "deliberate" so many of his family members have found success in the film industry since he first broke out in Hollywood in the early 1970s.

Francis Ford Coppola called his recent American Film Institute tribute a personal “homecoming.” Fellow directors Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Spike Lee and Ron Howard were among those honoring the iconic writer-director.

Although Robert De Niro was passed over for 'The Godfather', his starring role in the sequel turned out to be the offer he couldn't refuse.