Francis Ford Coppola says he wishes Shia LaBeouf 'all the best' despite on-set clashes

Francis Ford Coppola has spoken warmly about Shia LaBeouf despite the pair's well-documented disagreements while filming Megalopolis, saying he wishes the actor "all the best."

The legendary filmmaker, 87, reflected on working with LaBeouf after their tense on-set relationship is revisited in the upcoming documentary Megadoc, which chronicles the making of Coppola's ambitious 2024 epic.

Sharing behind-the-scenes images of LaBeouf in character as Clodio Pulcher on Instagram, Coppola praised the actor's talent despite their creative differences.

"Shia LaBeouf is a great and interesting actor to work with; 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!" he wrote.

The documentary includes footage of disagreements between the pair, with LaBeouf recalling a heated exchange in which Coppola allegedly called him the most difficult actor he had ever worked with.

"He says, 'You know, I have one regret on this show,'" LaBeouf recalled. "I said, 'Okay, what's the one regret?' He goes, 'You. You have been the biggest pain in my f****** a** of any actor I've ever worked with.'"

The actor responded by referencing some of Hollywood's most infamous production stories, including Coppola's experience directing Marlon Brando during Apocalypse Now.

"I said, 'Really? Any actor? Did I show up 700 pounds overweight in the jungle? Really? Any actor? Did I quit 10 days before we wrapped? You're just being dramatic,'" LaBeouf said.

According to LaBeouf, the argument ended with Coppola asking him to leave. However, the actor said the director reached out the following day with an apologetic email.

In the message, Coppola reportedly wrote that he regretted his reaction and explained that several crises had unfolded at the same time.

"My default reaction was to quit," the email reportedly read. "Nonetheless, as usual, you've done good work and I thank you for that. However, we remain two totally different viewpoints... I love you."

In his own interview for Megadoc, Coppola acknowledged that LaBeouf could be challenging on set but maintained that the actor delivered an outstanding performance.

"He drove me nuts, but his performance is great, and I'll say it's great," Coppola said. "I was in the trailer saying, 'I'm not even going to deal with him.'"