Clint Eastwood finally reveals why he cut the final scene from the Academy Award nominated feature film, ‘American Sniper’.
[Spoiler Alert] If you watched the latest Clint Eastwood movie, featuring Bradley Cooper as the world’s deadliest sniper, then you may have noticed that the ending was cut pretty short. Apparently, it was because Chris Kyle’s family formally requested for the scene to be cut from the movie.
The Hollywood honchos behind “American Sniper” omitted a final scene that would have depicted Navy SEAL Chris Kyle’s gory death, the show’s writer revealed, after the soldier’s widow urged them to leave it out.
Screenwriter Jason Hall told the Daily News that Kyle’s wife, Taya, asked Bradley Cooper, who played her husband in the film, director Clint Eastwood and other executives not to include the moment in their take on the story.
“Five days after Chris was murdered, (Taya) called and said, ‘This is going to be how my children remember their father, so I want you to get right,’” Hall said.
The film’s creators had penned a version that included the sniper’s murder by another veteran, which occurred at a firing range in Stephenville, Texas, in 2013. [NY Daily News]
Clint Eastwood originally wanted to shoot the scene, but decided to follow Tara Kyle’s request.
“In the end, I think we felt that this was a film about Chris’s life and not about his death,” said Hall. “We also wanted to be careful not to glorify the guy who did it.” He also said he was thinking of Kyle’s two children when considering their mother’s request. “I didn’t want it to be the thing that was hanging over their heads for the very rest of their lives as the film that showed their father getting shot,” he said.
Former US marine Eddie Ray Routh, 27, is currently on trial for murder and is accused of shooting Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield at a gun range in Stephenville, Texas, in 2013. Kyle and Littlefield had taken Routh there to try and help him overcome personal issues, including PTSD.
American Sniper is currently nominated for six Academy Awards, including best actor for Bradley Cooper and best picture. The movie has also made $392m at the global box office.
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