American Sniper...

Highrisedrifter

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You'll have to forgive me here but I had no idea who Chris Kyle was until the controversy over American Sniper made its way over the pond to the UK.

I've read a lot of reports about this film and Chris Kyle's autobiography and there are numerous discrepancies cited by the bloggers, researchers and reporters. If Jesse Ventura successfully sued Chris Kyle's estate for Defamation of Character, which I believe has a huge burden of proof in the US, far more than in the UK, then surely he has been proven right by law and Chris Kyle has been proven to have lied in his biography?

This is an honest question from a foreigner, so please take this in the spirit it is intended, which is not one of antagonism or trolling in any way.
 

anon(4698833)

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You'll have to forgive me here but I had no idea who Chris Kyle was until the controversy over American Sniper made its way over the pond to the UK.

I've read a lot of reports about this film and Chris Kyle's autobiography and there are numerous discrepancies cited by the bloggers, researchers and reporters. If Jesse Ventura successfully sued Chris Kyle's estate for Defamation of Character, which I believe has a huge burden of proof in the US, far more than in the UK, then surely he has been proven right by law and Chris Kyle has been proven to have lied in his biography?

This is an honest question from a foreigner, so please take this in the spirit it is intended, which is not one of antagonism or trolling in any way.

Not really, no...defamation essentially says that he, quite simply, defamed Jesse Ventura by stating that he punched him in a bar for anti-American sentiments. Jesse Ventura is a well known nut case...he was an actor, turned extremist political figure, and then became a governor (which I still remember people being completely baffled by and laughed about because it was, almost assuredly due to his financial ability and popularity from his celebrity life...much like Ahhhhhnold in California).

The actions listed in the book could have been 110% factually accurate and provable, and Ventura could still sue for defamation...it's kind of a sleazy type of suit most times because it means that the person did something defaming, another person referenced it, and they don't like the fact that it was made public. There are cases where it's done under situations where the event was totally false, but those are usually followed with other types of suits, not just this one.

At the end of the day, Chris Kyle became very popular due to his service in the military and his autobiography...he made a lot of money from it, and because movie rights were purchased with big names attached (Clint Eastwood, Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller), Ventura's legal team saw an opportunity for easy money, and went after his estate.

It's despicable in my opinion.

As far as the discrepancies you mentioned you read about...I'm sure there are things that people have different accounts of, every story has multiple view points. From what I've read though, the people who spent the most time with Kyle, even people who were not overly fond of him, said that his accounts were extremely accurate and represented very fairly. We may not ever know what is 100% truth, but honestly, what does he have to misrepresent? What purpose would it have served?

Also, what purpose would it have served the film makers to misrepresent the book? I mean the source material was Chris Kyle's own book...movies will be dramatized and sensationalized for entertainment value, but so far, I haven't read anything that stood out to me as a legitimate misrepresentation or discrepancy...mainly just agenda pushers trying to poke holes in a very successful bio-pic.
 

anon(4698833)

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Thanks for the comprehensive reply, Sean, I appreciate that.

I'd also like to say that in no way am I representing that the story written for the movie or the book he wrote is 100% factual...I personally have no idea, but I do hold a very special respect for our brothers in arms who serve this country the way Chris Kyle did. Soldiers, throughout generations, get sh*t on for their service because of people's opinions on the wars they are fighting in. They become the targets because they are a more intimate focal point...people essentially get bored trying to focus their anger on the government itself because it's kind of a faceless entity...making it easier to look at an individual soldier who stands out amongst the rest as a face of either good or evil.

If someone had a legitimate story to tell against Kyle's own, I would listen, but it had better be good...
 

kilofoxtrot

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The actions listed in the book could have been 110% factually accurate and provable, and Ventura could still sue for defamation....

The only problem for Ventura or for that matter anyone suing for defamation, as I understand our judicial system, is that the burden of proof lies with the accuser. In this case, Ventura.

Yet he won..... I wonder how he did it.
 

anon(4698833)

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The only problem for Ventura or for that matter anyone suing for defamation, as I understand our judicial system, is that the burden of proof lies with the accuser. In this case, Ventura.

Yet he won..... I wonder how he did it.

I don't think he actually "won", it listed that the jury was deadlocked...but the judged forced the issue and demanded a judgement. If a jury, looking at this from a neutral respect, couldn't come up with a decision without being prodded...it would seem the spectacle of the case played into the judges decision to call the jury back after being hung (which would normally be a mistrial or call for a retrial).

Honestly, after reading the info on it...it seems like some fishy BS the way the jury was forced into a verdict, considering the normal protocol of deadlocked juries.

Also, I'd be willing to put money on the fact that the wife will appeal and win, then probably counter sue for court costs and they'll reach an unnamed settlement where neither party concedes to damages and they walk away. Personally, I think it was a way for Ventura to get back in the media spotlight in some way.
 

kilofoxtrot

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I don't think he actually "won", it listed that the jury was deadlocked...but the judged forced the issue and demanded a judgement. If a jury, looking at this from a neutral respect, couldn't come up with a decision without being prodded...it would seem the spectacle of the case played into the judges decision to call the jury back after being hung (which would normally be a mistrial or call for a retrial).

Honestly, after reading the info on it...it seems like some fishy BS the way the jury was forced into a verdict, considering the normal protocol of deadlocked juries.

Also, I'd be willing to put money on the fact that the wife will appeal and win, then probably counter sue for court costs and they'll reach an unnamed settlement where neither party concedes to damages and they walk away. Personally, I think it was a way for Ventura to get back in the media spotlight in some way.

The NYT reported it was 8-2 with the jury. Regardless, I enjoyed the book and look forward to seeing the movie.

Is it right up there with Fury and SPR??


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anon(4698833)

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The NYT reported it was 8-2 with the jury. Regardless, I enjoyed the book and look forward to seeing the movie.

Is it right up there with Fury and SPR??


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Meh...at the end of the day, I could care less why Ventura did it...my opinion that he's a nut case far precedes his actions against the Kyle family.

Better than both in my opinion...there was an intensity and perfect total length that really played into my enjoyment of the movie. Fury was great but I feel had too much star power to be 100% enveloped in the story (and let's face it, Brad Pitt was the same character in Fury as he was in Inglorious Basterds, sans humor).

Saving Private Ryan is fantastic, but a bit long winded. That's the only complaint I've ever had about that movie.
 

BreakingKayfabe

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People in the pro wrestling industry don't even have good things to say about Ventura. He has always been a babbler dating back to his even pre-wwf days in the Indy circuit. Everyone thinks he's full of crap.
 

Kevin Harvell

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It was a wonderful film that gave me a new appreciation for what our service men & women have had to go through the last 10+ years.

Thank you to all who volunteer to serve.
 

the_tech_eater

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