#FakeBaby Is ‘American Sniper’’s Latest Controversy

The latest controversy surrounding the movie is its use of a prop baby.

By
ABC News
January 21, 2015, 9:08 AM ET
5 min read

— -- People are talking about “American Sniper.”

The biopic generated buzz after its Academy Award nominations –- including a best actor nod for star Bradley Cooper, and then again when it broke box office records over the weekend.

Now, fans are panning the picture for its apparent use of a prop doll as a stand-in for a real newborn. With a budget of $23 million, the Clint Eastwood-directed movie is drawing criticism for not using an actual baby.

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It happens in a scene between Cooper and actress Sienna Miller, who plays real-life Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle and his wife, Taye Kyle.

In the scene, Miller hands the baby to Cooper. For one minute and 13 seconds, Cooper pats and cuddles the prop child before gently putting it in a crib.

Twitter erupted with the hashtag #FakeBaby in posts like: "Did they not trust Bradley Cooper with a real baby?” and “Had CPR class the other morning. Found the baby used in ‘American Sniper.’”

“People are so used to everything looking so realistic in movies these days, you don’t expect to see a prop doll,” Aaron Couch, editor at The Hollywood Reporter, told ABC News. “It’s jarring.”

“American Sniper” screenwriter Jason Hall has explained the use of the prop baby, writing: "real baby #1 showed up with a fever. Real baby #2 was no show. (Clint voice) Gimme the doll, kid." The tweet has since been deleted.

The prop problem isn’t unique to this film. Eagle-eyed fans have caught plenty of missteps in popular films and TV shows.

  • In the iconic “Pulp Fiction,” characters escape gunfire. Fans of the 1994 film who looked more closely saw that there were bullet holes in the walls even before any shots were fired.
  • In a scene from the film “Gladiator” -- a historical drama which follows the life of a slave in ancient Rome -- when a chariot overturns in the Colosseum, a gas cylinder can be seen in the chariot.
  • A promotional photo for season 5 of “Downton Abbey” unleashed an uproar when fans of the 1920s period drama spotted a plastic water bottle on the mantle behind the hit show’s characters.

    • This also isn’t the first controversy surrounding “American Sniper.” On Tuesday, actor Seth Rogen and director Michael Moore criticized the hit film, sparking sharp backlash against them.

    Rogen tweeted that Rogen wrote that "American Sniper" reminded him of a scene about Nazi propaganda in the film "Inglourious Basterds,” while 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."