Lumière Prize winners Joel and Ethan Coen praise going to the movies: "There's no substitute for the pleasure of sitting in a movie theater with a bunch of people."

LYON, France — Joel and Ethan Coen may be among the most famous filmmakers of their generation, but the Oscar-winning brothers were in a self-deprecating mood at the Lumiere Film Festival on Friday, sharing laughs, anecdotes and tributes to colleagues who helped bring their films to life. I always feel that […]

The Coen brothers explained their secret - "We have very big egos" - in a masterclass Friday before receiving the Lumiere Award, the Lumiere festival's highest honor, and documenting how Joel Coen met his wife of 40 years, Frances McDormand.

"I always feel like I don't deserve it," Ethan joked at the start of the masterclass, before receiving the festival's Lumière Lifetime Achievement Award later that evening. Related Stories "Angel & Badman" Review: Zachary Levy Leads Angel Studios' Fascinating Remake of a John Wayne Vehicle "Between Two Lovers" Review: Nanako Hero's controversial family drama explores a hapless group.

The filmmakers of "Fargo," "The Big Lebowski" and "No Country for Old Men" spoke warmly about their four-decade collaboration and creative process. Popular in Variety

"We've always written together," Joel said. Ethan once said the way we adapt the book is I hold it open and he retypes it on the computer.

"That's why we prefer to adapt hardcover books because of the spine," Ethan said with a laugh.

Asked by festival director Thierry Fermo, who also heads the Cannes Film Festival, whether they've ever fought, Joel described the process of bouncing ideas off each other. "After reading Burning," he recalled, it came out of a conversation about a movie they'd never make — at the beginning of which the typed words appeared: "CIA headquarters, Langley, Virginia."

"And then we thought, well, why not do it?" He joked.

The brothers were also keen to share credit with their old collaborators, repeatedly stressing that their films were the product of a collective effort.

"By being here, we're taking credit for what so many other people have done," Ethan said, thanking Dr. Bruno Delbonnel, who was in the audience. The French cinematographer worked with the brothers on "Inside Llewyn Davis" and "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" and with Joel on "The Tragedy of Macbeth".

"Something emerges from working with another person," Joel said. And he explained that the same principle governs his partnership with Ethan. "The secret to this kind of collaboration is knowing when the other person is right and you are wrong."

“I think we're very pleasant to work with,” ventured Ethan. That, he joked, was because they had "very big egos" and weren't threatened by other people's ideas.

Fermo reached out to producer Eric Fellner, who was also in attendance, to ask if the brothers were really easy to work with.

"We've made nine movies together, so I think the answer is yes," Felner replied. "But beyond easy, they're far from the happiest people in the industry to make a movie with."

Frances McDormand, Joel's wife of more than 40 years, was also in Lyon. Joel recalls meeting the actor when he first starred in 1984's Blood Simple, when he was fresh out of drama school.

Excited by his audition, they asked him to come back later that day and read with another actor. She refused, explaining that she had promised to watch her boyfriend on a TV series.

"We were like, 'Wow, okay, that's cool,'" Joel recalled with a laugh.

Asked about collaborations with streaming platforms, including Netflix on "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" and Apple TV+ on Joel's "The Tragedy of Macbeth," Joel acknowledged that home video has helped launch their careers by opening up new markets for indie films. But he defended the theater experience.

"There's no substitute for the pleasure of sitting in a movie theater with a crowd of people," he said. “I don't think there are any filmmakers who relish the idea of working on diminishing platforms. "Oh, I saw your video on my iPhone." This is very disappointing.

He praised the Lumiere Film Festival for bringing together large audiences to watch movies on the big screen, something he said has become increasingly difficult in the United States.

The brothers also thought of Cannes, where Barton Fink won the Palme d'Or in 1991, including best picture.

Asked how he felt about missing out on the Cannes Film Festival awards, Joel recounted a Billy Wilder joke about an old man who complained to his doctor that he had trouble urinating. The doctor told the 75-year-old patient, "Well, you've peed enough."

"Joel and I agree that you've been kind enough to have us here," Ethan snapped at their host, "You've peed enough."

Frémaux, to enthusiastic support from the audience, assured them that the festival is eagerly awaiting their next film.

When asked which scriptwriting rules they enjoyed breaking the most, Ethan insisted they were hardly aware of any.

Joel had some advice: "If you're a screenwriter, you should break the rules as much as you can."

As Fermo ends the masterclass by reminding the brothers that Lyons will be celebrating for them that night, Ethan has the last word.