Francis Ford Coppola, 86, underwent planned surgery, no emergency involved
What's the story
Hollywood director Francis Ford Coppola, the mind behind The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, recently underwent a scheduled medical procedure in Rome. Panic spread earlier when an Italian portal claimed that the 86-year-old had suffered from atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat, before entering the surgery room. This report has been refuted by a representative of the filmmaker, per Reuters. Coppola himself took to social media to let fans know that he was doing all right. Here's more about it.
Medical update
'Da Dada is fine': Coppola reassured fans
Noting, "There was not an emergency," Coppola's US-based representative said that the director arrived at the hospital in a car for a scheduled medical procedure with his trusted doctor, Andrea Natale. "Mr. Coppola is resting nicely," they said. "All is well." The director himself reassured fans on Instagram, writing: "Da Dada (what my kids call me) is fine, taking an opportunity while in Rome to do the update of my 30-year-old afib procedure with its inventor...Dr. Andrea Natale!...I am well!"
Family and films
More on the legendary director
The "afib procedure" mentioned in the Italian-American filmmaker's post most likely refers to an "atrial fibrillation" procedure, a surgery/procedure to treat abnormal heart rhythm. More about the exact procedure isn't known. Coppola lost his wife-documentary film director, writer Eleanor, in April 2024. They had three children: Gian-Carlo, who died in a boating accident in 1986; Sofia, now 54 and an Oscar-winning filmmaker; and Roman, 60, who has also worked behind the camera.
Upcoming ventures
What's next for Coppola?
Despite the mixed reviews and box office struggles of his last film, Megalopolis, Coppola isn't slowing down. In an August 2024 interview, he revealed that he's already developing two new films. One is a "regular movie"; the other is more personal, called Distant Vision, which tells the story of three generations of an Italian American family during the invention of television. The director has won five Academy Awards, four of them for his work on The Godfather trilogy.