Director Francis Ford Coppola has clarified his feelings about Shia LaBeouf after they clashed on the set of the 2024 film Megalopolis.
Tensions between Coppola, 87, and LaBeouf, 40, during the production of the film came to light with the release of the 2025 documentary Megadoc, which followed the making of Megalopolis and showed the iconic filmmaker and controversial actor arguing.
However, Coppola made it clear in a recent social media post that he has no hard feelings for LaBeouf, who played the envy-driven villain Clodio Pulcher in the futuristic epic.
“Shia LaBeouf is a great and interesting actor to work with,” the Oscar-winning director wrote Monday on Instagram. “In the tradition of Dennis Hopper in his search to find the truth, I think he did a great job in Megalopolis. I sincerely wish him all the best!”
LaBeouf starred alongside actors like Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Nathalie Emmanuel and Dustin Hoffman in Coppola’s ambitious film, which was famously self-funded.
Representatives for LaBeouf did not immediately return The Independent’s request for comment.
A scene in Megadoc showed LaBeouf and Coppola arguing about the details of a scene during the 72nd day of filming the movie. Another moment in the documentary showed LaBeouf telling his co-star Jon Voight that he was “worried about getting fired all the time.”
In an interview featured in the documentary, Coppola described LaBeouf as being “not reasonable” on set.
“He drove me nuts, but his performance is great, and I’ll say it’s great, but I mean, I was in the [trailer] saying ‘I’m not even going to deal with him,’” the Apocalypse Now director said.
In his interview, LaBeouf told doc director Mike Figgs that Coppola had called him the most difficult actor he had ever worked with.
“‘Really? Any actor? You’re just being dramatic,’” LaBeouf said that he told Coppola. “He’s like, ‘I’m not being dramatic, get out.’”
After that particular conversation, the Honey Boy actor said Coppola sent him an email where he thanked him for the work he had done on Megalopolis.
“Of course I feel badly about my reaction last night,” Coppola wrote in the email, according to LaBeouf. “Many crises hit the fan all at the same time.”
Per LaBeouf, the email continued: “Nonetheless, as usual, you’ve done good work and I thank you for that. However, we remain two totally different viewpoints, which of course is how people tend to be. I love you.”
Megalopolis did not perform well at the box office and garnered mixed reviews, although Coppola has continued to promote the movie in the years since.
LaBeouf — who pleaded guilty last month to misdemeanor battery charges relating to a February bar fight in February — said during an appearance on the Bad Friends podcast in June 2025 that he did not like how the final version of Megalopolis turned out, but that he still loved Coppola.
