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“American Sniper” Labeled as “Murder”

Opponents of the film tagged a billboard in West L.A. with the word "murder."

Not everyone is happy with the Academy Award-nominated film "American Sniper," with at least one prominent billboard in West L.A. defaced with the word "murder" and a number of high-profile Hollywood players appearing to denounce the Clint Eastwood-directed movie.

The billboard, at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Bundy Drive, was tagged with the word on Sunday.

"American Sniper" stars Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle, a Navy SEAL confirmed as the deadliest sniper in U.S. history. The film has come under fire for glorifying someone who killed for a living.

Comedian Seth Rogen compared the movie to Nazi propaganda and a German sniper killing Allied soldiers in a Quentin Tarantino movie, before backing off his critique of the movie. Rogen tweeted: "American Sniper kind of reminds me of the movie that’s showing the third act of Inglorious Basterds."

The "Interview" actor later said he liked the film, tweeting: "I just said something 'kinda reminded' me of something else. I actually liked American Sniper. It just reminded me of the Tarantino scene."

The R-rated war drama shattered box office records over the holiday weekend becoming the biggest January opening on record. "American Sniper" took $105.3 million over the Martin Luther King Jr. four-day weekend, surpassing "Avatar" to become the biggest January weekend ever.

The film also delivered its director a weekend record. 84-year-old Eastwood's previous best weekend was $29.5 million for 2009's "Gran Torino." The box office haul makes "American Sniper, with six Academy Award nominations, the top grossing best-picture nominee.

A tweet from director Michael Moore was also viewed by social media followers as criticism of the film. "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," Moore wrote.

The "Fahrenheit 9/11" documentarian later backtracked, saying he never directly referenced the film: "Hmm. I never tweeted 1word bout AmericanSniper/ChrisKyle. I said my uncle killed by sniper in WWII; only cowards would do that 2 him, others."

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