Fake Baby in “American Sniper” Ridiculed Online
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Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures(NEW YORK) — While Bradley Cooper is an Oscar nominee for his portrayal of late sniper Chris Kyle in American Sniper, the cast member that’s drawing the most attention at the moment is a fake baby.
A doll that stands in for Cooper and his onscreen wife Sienna Miller’s child in the Clint Eastwood-directed movie is being mocked by critics and Twitter users.
One person joked, “I don’t get all the American Sniper love. But I do understand Bradley Cooper’s nom. He had to hold that fake baby and not laugh. That’s skill!”
A YouTube clip titled “The fake baby from American Sniper,” in which Cooper’s character is holding the “baby,” has received more than 1.6 million views since it was posted Monday.
So, why exactly does the doll make an appearance in the movie? Screenwriter and executive producer Jason Hall offered an explanation to a journalist in late December, in a tweet that has since been deleted.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hall wrote, “hate to ruin the fun but real baby #1 showed up with a fever. Real baby #2 was no show. (Clint voice) Gimme the doll, kid.”
The trade publication points out that real babies appear to have been used for an earlier scene in the film.
American Sniper has generated controversy in other ways over the past week, sparking debate over whether it glorifies a killer. The film was also the subject of a highly-publicized tweet by Seth Rogen, in which he said it reminds him of a fake Nazi propaganda movie shown in the Quentin Tarantino film Inglorious Basterds. However, he later denied he was comparing the two.
American Sniper earned $89.5 million from Friday through Sunday to set a record for a January weekend. It made $107.2 million over the four-day holiday weekend.
The film is nominated for six Oscars, including best picture and best actor for Cooper.
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