Lifetime honour for actor Beatty

Beatty watched the ceremony with wife Annette Bening

A host of stars have paid tribute to Warren Beatty, who has received a lifetime achievement award from the American Film Institute (AFI).

The 71-year-old Oscar-winning director, actor, writer and producer was honoured at a ceremony in Hollywood.

The celebration of Beatty's 47-year career was attended by Jane Fonda, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Diane Keaton and Quentin Tarantino.

Beatty's career credits include Bonnie and Clyde, and Shampoo.

He won a best director Oscar for the film Reds in 1981, and has been nominated for several more Academy Awards during his career.

'Risk-taker'

The event at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre featured clips from Beatty's films and taped tributes from Barbra Streisand, Gene Hackman, Goldie Hawn and John McCain.

Actress Halle Berry, who starred with Beatty in the 1998 political satire Bulworth, called him "a true legend", adding that he was a man "willing to take a risk to say something meaningful to the audience through his film".

Hoffman also saluted his friend of 40 years, describing Beatty as a "very human human being: a political activist of no short order, a proven artist of Herculean proportions."

Beatty, who is married to actress Annette Bening, thanked his "big sister Shirley MacLaine" for leading him into the film business.