Francis Ford Coppola spent much of 2024, as well as a good deal of 2025, crisscrossing the globe in support of his ambitious film Megalopolis. It was an impressive mobilization for an 86-year-old man, who more recently took advantage of a stay in Italy to take care of his health. This summer, Coppola was hospitalized in Rome to have a heart implant replaced, under the supervision of Dr. Andrea Natale, a renowned cardiologist who has been treating the director for over 30 years.
On Instagram, the filmmaker reassured his fans: “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, a great Italian doctor – Dr. Andrea Natale! I am well!”
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Rest, it seems, is out of the question. Coppola is already working on a new project. Earlier this summer, he was in Calabria scouting out locations for the film. Few details have been revealed, other than that the director intends to highlight the wonders of the region. “Calabria is a region well known for its Mafia, but I’m not interested in that. My film will focus solely on the beauties of this region,” he told the local press.
Despite a lukewarm reception for Megalopolis—including Coppola winning the unflattering title of worst director at the recent Golden Raspberry Awards—the icon doesn’t seem to be hanging up his boots. On Friday, August 1, he rounded off a six-city US tour with a screening of the film, followed by a Q&A session in San Francisco.
Like Clint Eastwood, who at 95 is still making films, Francis Ford Coppola seems to be driven by an undiminished passion. Can the father of The Godfather still surprise us even now? Only time will tell.
Original story in VF France.
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