Francis Ford Coppola refutes Winona Ryder's verbal abuse claims

Francis Ford Coppola has denied that he ordered Keanu Reeves to insult co-star Winona Ryder on the set of Bram Stoker's Dracula to make the actress cry on cue.

During a recent Sunday Times interview, Ryder insisted Reeves refused the director's demands to verbally abuse her, but Coppola has fired back, denying that he ever made such demands on Reeves, who played lawyer Jonathan Harker in the 1992 movie.

Although he admitted to asking Gary Oldman to whisper "evil and horrific" words in Ryder's ear, the 81-year-old filmmaker has dismissed Ryder's recollection that he himself called her 'a whore'.

Coppola told People: "While I think Winona is a wonderful actor, the incident she described is not how it happened, and shouting or abusing people isn’t something I do as a person or as a filmmaker."

Coppola continued: "In this situation, which I remember clearly, I instructed Gary Oldman - in character as Dracula - to whisper improvised words to her and the other characters, making them as horrific and evil as he could. I don’t know what was said, but improvisation is a common filmmaking practice."

The claim is not the only one recently made by Ryder to stir up controversy. Ryder's memory has also been questioned by a representative of Mel Gibson, who has rejected her statement that the Braveheart star upset her by using a derogatory term for Jews at a Hollywood party.

A spokesperson for Gibson said Ryder's remarks were: "100 per cent untrue. She lied about it over a decade ago, when she talked to the press, and she's lying about it now."