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Quentin Tarantino angrily responded to a reporter who asked him why Margot Robbie has such a limited role in his new movie Once Upon a Time In Hollywood.

The filmmaker premiered his latest epic to rave reviews and a seven-minute standing ovation at France's Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday, but the mood turned sour at a press conference, filmed for Variety, to promote the film the following day.

A reporter praised Robbie, who plays tragic Tinseltown icon Sharon Tate, and asked the Pulp Fiction director why she has so few lines. Responding to the query, Tarantino angrily snapped back: "I reject your hypothesis!"

The Australian star then attempted to smooth things over by talking about how she approached playing the actress, who was killed by followers of cult leader Charles Manson in 1969, without using large amounts of dialogue.

"I always look to the character and what the character is supposed to serve to the story," she said. "I think the moments I was on screen gave a moment to honour Sharon. I think the tragedy was the loss of innocence. To show the wonderful sides of her could be done without speaking. I did feel like I got a lot of time to explore the character without dialogue, which is an interesting thing. Rarely do I get an opportunity to spend so much time on my own as a character."

Once Upon a Time In Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio together on screen for the first time, and Pitt told reporters at the press conference it's an experience he wants to repeat.

"It's that thing of knowing you got the best of the best on the opposite side of the table holding up the scene with you," he gushed. "We had similar experiences to laugh about. I hope we do it again."

The movie will debut in cinemas in July.