Werner Herzog, accepting a special award from Coppola, said the two filmmakers have “known each other for half a century now”

Francis Ford Coppola honored Werner Herzog at the Venice Film Festival opening ceremony on Wednesday night, calling him an "unlimited phenomenon."

Filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola is set to honor German director Werner Herzog during the opening ceremony of the 82nd annual Venice International Film Festival.

Venice: Coppola put up Herzog 50 years ago at his San Francisco house while the German filmmaker, who received an honorary Golden Lion Wednesday night, finished his script for his 1982 Klaus Kinski epic "Fitzcarraldo.

Francis Ford Coppola is set to honor Warner Herzog during the Venice Film Festival's upcoming opening ceremony

Port of Call New Orleans director Werner Herzog was honored at the Venice Film Festival Wednesday. His fellow filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola presented him with an honorary Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.

The great German auteur received a lifetime achievement Golden Lion award and praise from the Italian-American cinema icon: "One must celebrate the fact that someone like him can actually exist."