Phaneron

Trivia: As mentioned in another entry, Chris Kyle's book contained a chapter in which he lied about punching out Jesse Ventura at a Navy SEALs reunion. This chapter was not adapted to the film because Ventura threatened the studio with litigation if they included it.

Phaneron ★

Trivia: Because of his role in this film, many American conservatives assumed Bradley Cooper was a Republican, only to be dismayed to find out he was a Democrat when he was spotted at the Democratic National Convention in 2016. Some even vowed to boycott his future movies over the revelation.

Phaneron ★

Trivia: Contrary to the heroic figure he's portrayed as being in the film, the real-life Chris Kyle was quite the controversial person. By his own admission, he would ignore rules of engagement and stated that he enjoyed killing people in Iraq and that he wished he would have killed more, even referring to Iraqis as "savages." He also falsely claimed in his book and in subsequent radio/television interviews to have punched-out former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura for making disparaging remarks about Navy SEALs at a SEAL reunion in 2006. As a result, Ventura sued Chris Kyle - and later his estate after Kyle's death - and was awarded $1.8 million in damages for defamation of character and unjust enrichment. It was also revealed in May 2016 that Kyle had embellished his military record, claiming in his book to have won two Silver Stars and five Bronze stars, all for valor. In actuality, he had only been awarded one Silver Star and four Bronze Stars. Prior to publishing his book, Navy officials warned him not to include the discrepancy. The Navy concluded its investigation of the matter in July 2016, and reduced his medal count accordingly. Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/navy-finds-american-sniper-chris-kyle-exaggerated-medal-count-article-1.2705473.

Phaneron ★