Multiple Oscar-nominated director-writer Ettore Scola, considered one of the last greats of Italian cinema, has died aged 84.
Scola, who had been in a coma since Sunday after being admitted to the cardiac surgery unit of a hospital in Rome, died on January 19, reported BBC News.
His 1974 work "A Special Day", which he wrote and directed, received Best Foreign Film and Best Actor nominations for star Marcello Mastroianni.
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said Scola was a screen "master". His death left a "huge void in Italian culture", Renzi tweeted (in Italian).
He entered the industry in 1953 as a screenwriter and got his first chance as director in 1964 with "Let's Talk About Women" - an innovative work of nine vignettes in which Vittorio Gassman plays different characters who seduce women.
Scola directed 41 films and wrote the screenplay for almost 90 movies. He performed both roles in "A Special Day", featuring Mastroianni and Sophia Loren as neighbours who meet during Hitler's visit to Italy in 1938.
His other works include "We All Loved Each Other So Much" (1974), "Ugly, Dirty and Bad" (1976), "The Family" (1987) and "The Dinner" (1998).
He was a member of the jury at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival.
