Despite America's hopes to see the smash hit movie "American Sniper" win Best Picture at the Academy Awards Sunday night, history and conventional wisdom say Hollywood will never bestow the top Oscar honors on Clint Eastwood's movie.
Based on the best-selling book "American Sniper: the Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. History," the film tells the story of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, whose 160 confirmed kills during four tours of Iraq led fellow SEALs, Marines, and soldiers to call him "The Legend."
Directed by Eastwood, a true Hollywood legend, it carries a strong message of patriotism, which has stirred conservatives and left many anti-war liberals panning the film.
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Without a doubt, Americans want "American Sniper" to win the top prize.
In a recent Google poll,
The New York Times reports, 42 percent voted for "American Sniper" to win, only 2 percent less than the total of those who voted for all the other contenders together. Other polls have reported similar results.
A Vox Populi poll found that 38 percent wanted "American Sniper" to win — "Selma" was second with just 14 percent of the vote.
Kyle was killed on Feb. 2, 2013, gunned down at a firing range allegedly by a PTSD-stricken Marine veteran, adding a tragic note to the success of the film.
Despite all it’s got going for it, “American Sniper” still faces Academy voters with a long record of honoring low-budget, artsy independent films.
Here are 10 reasons why "American Sniper" will be snubbed during Sunday night’s Oscars:
1. Hollywood Liberalism — Hollywood is a bastion of left-wingers, and "Sniper"'s patriotic, conservative message caused them to explode in politically motivated fury. Far-liberal film maker Michael Moore tweeted, "My uncle killed by sniper in WW2. We were taught snipers were cowards. Will shoot u in the back. Snipers aren't heroes. And invaders r worse."
Able to hide behind anonymous ballots, Academy voters may grab the chance to sabotage any chances "American Sniper" has of winning best picture. The
Daily Beast said the movie "now serves as a political Rorschach test exposing viewers’ biases towards the War on Terror."
Special: 'American Sniper' Gets 6 Oscar Nominations Including Best Picture. Get the Best-Selling Book That Started It All — Go Here Now.
2. Clint Eastwood Himself — Eastwood, who considers himself a conservative libertarian, once famously gave an anti-Obama speech at the Republican Convention and is one of Hollywood liberals' favorite villains. He was snubbed by not receiving a nomination for Best Director, and the movie industry's legion of Democrats will relish the chance to slap Eastwood by voting against "American Sniper" for Best Picture.
3. Creative License — "American Sniper" has been criticized for taking dramatic license with the truth of Chris Kyle's story, and its opponents will use these cinematic embellishments to campaign against the film.
In the movie, Kyle kills his opposite number, enemy sniper Mustafa, with a 2,100-yard shot. In his memoir, Kyle says he never saw Mustafa. Kyle talks to his wife on a satellite phone several times and she is horrified to hear the sounds of combat in the background. In truth, it happened only once,
The Washington Post notes.
4. Estate Controversy — Kyle's widow, Taya, has been criticized for allegedly failing to follow her husband's wishes that profits from his book be donated to the families of fallen SEALs and veterans support groups. The
Hollywood Reporter notes she is also involved in lawsuits resulting from the couple's business ventures, which has the tendency to besmirch Kyle's legacy and could harm the film's shot at a Best Picture nod.
5. Marriage Woes — The "love story" aspect of the movie has been damaged by legal papers filed in the lawsuits which state that Kyle said there was "discord in his marriage" and believed that "divorce was a very real possibility," the Hollywood Reporter said.
6. Not Real Enough? — Actor Bradley Cooper, playing Kyle, and Sienna Miller, playing Taya, are shown cuddling a plastic baby doll instead of a real child, which has jarred audiences. The doll was used because the real baby intended for the scene came down with a fever, according to "Sniper" screenwriter Jason Hall,
Vulture reports.
Special: Get the Full Story of This American Hero in Chris Kyle's Memoir — Click Here.
7. Sympathy for Islamic World — With Hollywood liberals' favorite president, Barack Obama, refusing to use the words "Islamic" and "terrorist" together, the film has upset both Muslims and liberals over Kyle's references to the enemy as "savages." Ramzi Kassem, associate professor of law at the City University of New York, called the film "little more than a racist, self-involved apology for jingoism and military occupation dressed up as a B-movie," and said the
movie is a "simply unholy cocktail of vile prejudice and historical revisionism. It should not be rewarded with an Oscar," Al Jazeera reports.
8. Blockbuster Bias — "American Sniper's" competitors for the Best Picture award virtually all are "indies" in style, despite their production by major studios, with pretensions of high "art," as opposed to being blockbuster, high-attendance films. Jeff Bock, box office analyst for Exhibitor Relations, said, "The 'artists' are running the Oscars and those are the films they choose over the blockbusters,"
USA Today reports.
9. Hollywood Thinks It Knows Best — The film industry and Academy voters don’t listen to the public. Although the film has generated huge box office numbers and approval in poll responses, Rentrak media analyst Paul Dergarabedian told USA Today, "It's supposed to be about the best movies. It's not the People's Choice Awards. It's not the Box Office Awards. It's the Oscars."
10. Snubbed Before — The Screen Actors Guild and the Golden Globes both ignored the film, and The Hollywood Reporter predicts that the only Oscar "American Sniper" will win is Best Sound Editing.
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