'Diana' film poster is placed near Paris tunnel where princess died

PARIS, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- A poster for the film "Diana" has been placed near the Paris tunnel where the British princess was killed in a car crash 16 years ago, People.com reported.

Some close friends and fans of the late princess have criticized the move as exploitative and insensitive.

"I really don't have any words to describe how I feel about this cynical and shameless attempt to publicize a film that should never have been made," People.com quoted Diana's friend Rosa Monckton as saying. "To have made a film so speculative as this is disgusting enough, but to then advertise it on the spot at which she died is despicable. ... It is a terrible intrusion into her memory, not to mention the lives of her sons, whose feelings are often forgotten in these stories. I would expect them to take it down right now."

People.com said there was no immediate comment from the makers or distributors of the film, which stars Naomi Watts as the princess and Naveen Andrews as her one-time beau Dr. Hasnat Khan.