Sophia eats humble pie

Even Hollywood royalty can be humiliated at times - and it's even worse when your camcorder-wielding parents are watching.

Sofia Coppola found her head on the block yesterday after a Cannes audience booed her new film, Marie Antoinette.

To make things worse her father, Francis Ford Coppola, witnessed her unhappiest moment in movies since The Godfather: Part III.

Stars of the film, including Kirsten Dunst and Steve Coogan, were forced to rush to Coppola's defence after cinemagoers hollered ridicule.

Coppola's last film was Lost In Translation, which won her an Oscar nomination for best director.

But she appears to have lost her touch with the follow-up, which blends 18th-century aristocracy and revolution with rock music and Manolo Blahnik-designed shoes.

The film depicts the life of the Austrian-born queen, played by Dunst, sent to the guillotine by French revolutionaries in 1793.

She was said to have responded to claims the poor could not afford bread with the retort, 'Let them eat cake', although the origins of that particular quote have since been attributed to philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

But 35-year-old director Coppola was eating humble pie after the booing at the end of the Cannes Film Festival premiere. She said: 'That's disappointing to hear. It's better to get a reaction. It's better than a mediocre response. Hopefully some people will enjoy it. I think it's not for everybody.'

Francis Ford Coppola attended the red carpet premiere, alongside wife Eleanor - who was recording Sofia's big night on a video camera.

British star Coogan, who plays the Ambassadeur Mercy, said: 'When you make something that's personal and specific, it's inevitable there will be naysayers. It's better to have that than a bland uniform response.'