Clint Eastwood’s biopic American Sniper has owned the box office since its wide release Friday, however its record-breaking success continues to fuel both outspoken critics and outright opponents.
Some of those opponents took action against American Sniper on Sunday, when they defaced a billboard for the film in Los Angeles by tagging the word “murder” across it in red spray paint.
Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. A. Bone says no official crime report has been filed but believes finding those responsible will be essentially impossible.
“Taggers like to throw up their own stuff,” Bone told People. “If it’s just the word ‘murder’ there’s practically no way to track it down.”
This is just the latest attack on the Clint Eastwood-directed film, which tells the story of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, known as the deadliest sniper in U.S. history.
Sicko filmmaker Michael Moore bravely used his Twitter page Sunday to denigrate snipers by likening them to cowards. “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,” he said.
Actor Seth Rogen, of the recently released comedy dud The Interview, was more direct in his attack on American Sniper, when he compared the film to a work of Nazi propaganda, shown in the movie Inglourious Basterds:
Attacks against American Sniper have yet to affect moviegoers, as the film grossed more than $105 million dollars over opening weekend and has been nominated for six Academy Awards.
Perhaps the word “murder” was an intended shot at Chris Kyle, but with the film’s unprecedented performance, the only thing that seems to have been murdered, thus far, is the stranglehold Hollywood’s left once held over movie narratives regarding the War on Terror.