Margot Robbie rescued the awkward moment.
There is controversy over the forthcoming Quentin Tarantino movie.
"Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" stars Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate, who was murdered by the Manson family in 1969.
Robbie is quite a presence in the movie, but Tarantino only gave her a handful of lines. He appeared to be seething when he was asked why at the Cannes Film Festival.
“This is a person with a great deal of talent but you haven't given her many lines in the movie and I just wanted to know why that was,” a reporter asked Tuesday after the film premiered at the festival.
“Well, I just reject your hypothesis!” Tarantino replied.
Robbie rescued the awkward moment, saying, “I think the moments I got on the screen gave an opportunity to honor Sharon.”
The movie also stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a fictional washed-up actor and Brad Pitt as his stunt double.
Sharon Tate's sister, Debra, who campaigns to keep surviving members of the Manson family behind bars at No Parole for Manson Family, sent Inside Edition a video about the movie.
"Margot Robbie from what I've seen has absolutely done Sharon justice," she said. "I believe that the two of them possess a lot of the same qualities."
Following the film’s premiere, there was a 6-minute standing ovation.
Tarantino is pleading with movie critics not to give away too much of the surprise ending.
“I only ask that everyone avoids revealing anything that would prevent later audiences from experiencing the film in the same way,” he told reporters.
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” opens in theaters in July, two weeks before the 50th anniversary of the Manson murders.
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