Francis Ford Coppola Assures Fans He's "Fine" After Hospital Visit in Italy

 Award-winning director Francis Ford Coppola is recovering well after being hospitalized in Calabria, Italy, on Tuesday morning. The 85-year-old filmmaker was in the region ahead of a planned medical procedure and took the opportunity to undergo an update to a previous heart treatment.

Coppola himself addressed the situation, reassuring fans through a lighthearted message. “Da Dada (what my kids call me) is fine,” he wrote. “I’m 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!”

Italian outlet Repubblica.it, via Reuters, reported that Coppola experienced atrial fibrillation—an irregular heartbeat—prior to his hospital admission. However, a source close to the director confirmed to Rolling Stone that it was a scheduled update procedure with Dr. Natale, Coppola’s long-time physician. “Mr. Coppola is resting nicely. All is well and he appreciates everyone’s concern,” the source said.

Coppola had been in Italy not only for personal health reasons but also for professional pursuits. He was scheduled to present a screening of his recent film Megalopolis and has been using his time in the country to scout locations for his next cinematic project.

Megalopolis, released last year, was a passion project decades in the making. Originally conceived in 1989 and shelved multiple times, the film finally came to life but divided critics and audiences. Despite its long history, Megalopolis struggled at the box office, earning just $14.3 million against a production cost that exceeded $90 millio