10 Mistakes Directors Hoped You'd Forget By The End Of The Movie
1. The Fakest Baby Ever - American Sniper
American Sniper may have grossed over $500 million worldwide and been nominated for six Oscars including Best Picture and Best Actor for Bradley Cooper, but it's really, truly remembered today for that damn fake baby.
During a pivotal scene between Chris Kyle (Cooper) and his wife Taya (Sienna Miller), Chris is tending to the couple's baby, yet because plans fell through to have a human baby in the scene - one had a fever, the other no-showed - director Clint Eastwood had to resort to using an off-the-shelf plastic doll.
The artificiality of the baby is both hilarious and distracting, its lifeless body cradled by poor Bradley Cooper as he tries to imitate movement by slyly lifting its arm with his thumb.
The scene was widely ridiculed online with some analysts even predicting it could harm the film's Oscar chances. For what it's worth, Eastwood - who has a rep for shooting minimal takes for scenes - didn't receive a Best Director Oscar nomination for his work.
Eastwood, an efficient director to a fault, clearly assumed (incorrectly) that audiences would be engrossed enough in the character drama not to notice the blatant artifice on display.
Given the film's $59 million budget, though, it's surprising this wasn't fixed in post-production by simply animating the doll's limbs and head subtly to imply it was an actual living, breathing person.