Former Navy SEAL and FBI agent Jonathan Gilliam says "American Sniper" proves that Hollywood can do it right — and believes Michael Moore is clueless about the vital job the elite marksmen do protecting America.
"It has shown again that all of Hollywood does not necessarily have these views [like Moore]," Gilliam said Friday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
Newsmax TV.
"But there are a few in Hollywood who have the loudest mouths and normally they're not the well thought-out people. They're just people who just want to spout off."
"American Sniper," directed by Clint Eastwood, tells the true story of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, one of the most talented marksmen in the service. Starring Bradley Cooper as Kyle, it has been nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture.
Following the nominations, Michael Moore, the liberal documentary filmmaker who made "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "Bowling for Columbine," declared that "all snipers" are "cowards who will shoot you in the back" and are "not heroes."
But Gilliam countered:
"A sniper’s job is over watch and protection of the forces and it's also there to eliminate the threats that we don't see.
"They're there doing a professional job, just like a police officer or a firefighter. When they do their job, it's not like they're looking at who they're taking out and getting caught up in the moment. They're looking at the threat, they're eliminating the threat.
"There will always be wars. There will always be movies about wars and if we don't go out and confront these bad people, they will come to us eventually. It's the way it's always been throughout history."
Gilliam praised Whoopi Goldberg for ripping into Moore and actor/director Seth Rogan, who made the controversial comedy "The Interview," and said "American Sniper" reminded him of a fake Nazi propaganda film featured in Quentin Tarantino's war flick, "Inglorious Basterds."
"We stood behind you Seth with your movie and we said you had the right to make the movie you wanted to make. Give them the same respect, because we stood behind them," Goldberg scolded on her ABC-TV chat show "The View." "Michael Moore, you know better."
"I have to give Whoopi Goldberg credit. She thought this out and she had a very well thought out response to this," Gilliam told Steve Malzberg.
"Seth Rogen's just high all the time and he admits it. Why would you listen to him?"
"American Sniper" — rated R for strong and disturbing war violence, and language throughout including some sexual references — is nominated for best picture, actor, writing, editing, sound mixing, and sound editing.
Eastwood, a noted conservative, addressed the Republican National Convention in 2012.
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