Francis Ford Coppola shares update after health issue hospitalised Godfather director

Francis Ford Coppolahas issued a health update after concerning reports he had been hospitalised in Italy. It was suggested in local media that the iconic director of the Godfather film, 86, had been rushed to hospital unexpectedly in the Italian city on August 5.

The apparent scare came as he was in the country for the Magna Grecia Festival in Calabria to present his controversial movie, Megalopolis, which stars Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, and Giancarlo Esposito.

However, he took to social media to clear up the situation and insisted he is "well". Taking to Instagram, the five-time Oscar winner clarified: "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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He shared the update alongside an image of himself grinning. And his followers were thrilled with his announcement.

Among those sharing their delight was actress Sharon Stone. She wrote: "We love you honey," along with an emoji with love heart eyes.

Another user penned: "I’m glad you’re doing ok. It’s bad enough we lost David Lynch this year. We can’t afford to lose another brilliant filmmaker in the same year." They added emojis of praying hands and a bandaged heart on their comment.

The update comes after the director recently addressed a crowd at the film festival in Italy. He spent a lot of the summer in Italy scouting locations for his new film, which is said to start filming this autumn, as reported by ANSA.

He told the crowd: "Young people tell me the world is a mess, but I tell them there's no problem that humanity can't solve. We must build a great new future, and do it together for the sake of our children. And tonight, we're taking a leap into the future."

The legendary director has long had close ties to the country thanks to his grandfather, Agostino, who emigrated from Bernalda in the early 1900s. In 1989, Francis became an honorary citizen of the town.

Francis' huge film Megalopolis released earlier this year to mixed reviews. The decades-in-the-making project stars Adam Driver as a rich and tortured visionary trying to build a utopian city while rowing with a conservative mayor. It's said the film cost a huge $120million but only grossed just over $14million across the globe.

However, the figures didn't appear to bother the icon. He said: "I lost my wife a year ago, around this time. But my attitude for death is that I always lived my life so that when I was at the moment approaching death, I wouldn’t say, ‘Oh, I wish I had done this and I wish I had done that.’ Instead, I say to myself, ‘I got to do this.’”

“I got to see my daughter win an Oscar. I got to see my father win an Oscar. I’m going to be so busy saying all the things I got to do that when I die, I’m not going to notice it. When I die, I’m not going to notice it. You know how your electric toothbrush just shuts off when you least expect it? That’s what death is like.”

As well as his work on The Godfather, Francis is also known for The Cotton Club, Peggy Sue Got Married, Bram Stoker's Dracula, The Outsiders and The Rainmaker.

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