American Sniper

[a-dev]

I read that Ventura has continued a lawsuit against Kyle's wife for that punch, despite Kyle dying shortly after. That true?

 

[Khev]

Yes and apparently won $1.8 million from Kyle's estate and also forcing pages in the book that reference him to be pulled from future printings.

 

[filip629]

I saw this opening weekend. I thought the movie was excellent.

 

[DiFabio]

I read that Ventura has continued a lawsuit against Kyle's wife for that punch, despite Kyle dying shortly after. That true?

Ventura made the lawsuit against Kyle for defamation before he was killed in 2013. Before he pressed charges, Ventura asked Kyle and the publishing company to remove the "Scruff Face" chapters of the book. They refused. He still pursued it after Kyle died, and won. The judge and jury ruled that Kyle's statements in his book against Ventura were untrue and Ventura "won". The jury decided that it should be $1.2 million for defamation or whatever, not Ventura.

Kyle's wife/family haven't suffered a monetary loss, especially after the book and movie deals. Most of that money will be going to lawyers anyway. Ventura's lawsuit was to clear his name since the claim against him was basically treason that Kyle fabricated, not a punch in the face (which was also ruled out as being a lie). Nobody really "wins" here. It's been proven that Ventura didn't do or say those things, but he's still viewed as this jerk and big *******.

 

[a-dev]

Ah. Fair enough then I suppose. Whatever I read didn't give Ventura's side.

 

[Khev]

So Ventura was never even punched? How did the whole thing start then?

 

[DiFabio]

So Ventura was never even punched? How did the whole thing start then?

Chris Kyle made up the story for his book according to the ruling. He states that "Scruff Face" (Ventura), wouldn't take a picture with his buddy at a SEALs party or something, then Scruff Face said horrible, ****ed up things about the SEALs community like "they deserved to die" and ranting and raving against them and the war. Then Kyle blasted him in the face and laid him out at the bar for everyone to see.

For a while, people didn't know who "Scruff Face" was until Kyle was on a radio show promoting his book and said it was Jesse Ventura. Once Ventura caught wind of that, he asked Kyle and the publishing company of the book to pull out the Scruff Face story since it wasn't true. They refused so he then pressed charges for defamation and slander. It was ruled in Ventura's favor that none of that was true. There's also evidence that Ventura and Kyle may have never even met, (Ventura thinks that maybe Kyle was delusional/drunk and got into it with someone else).

There are other stories that Kyle makes up in his book. He claims that he and his buddy killed desperate looters at the Hurricane Katrina aid site. So he basically boasts that he sniped american citizens in New Orleans. Another story is that he was about to be robbed by two muggers at a gas station in some state, tricked them both, and killed them. Then when the cops came by, he was like "call up the Pentagon, I'm a war hero" and they just let him go, no questions asked.

 

[Khev]

Crazy. I thought that Ventura had a real black eye and everything. Just another reminder of how much BS is on the internet.

 

[a-dev]

Bizarre. Strange that anyone boasting about such things would be even considered motion picture material and particularly a film that seems to believe it is depicting a hero.

 

[Khev]

I'm just glad that the movie didn't show him shooting the enemy sniper in the eye through his own scope.

 

[Adolfo]

I'm just glad that the movie didn't show him shooting the enemy sniper in the eye through his own scope.

That has happened...

 

[Khev]

That has happened...

A hundred times? At some point we need to stop seeing it done in movies. RoboCop 2, Sniper, Saving Private Ryan, etc.

 

[DiFabio]

They should have put the Scruff Face bit in there.

While Ventura was the victim of a lie in this case, he has struck me as a crazy loud mouth. Not that what Chris Kyle made up was right, it wasn't, but it would have been funny to see that scenario play out where Bradley Cooper sucker punches a guy in the face then runs away, then "Scruff Face" (the second antagonist after the villainous "Mustafar" sniper) then states that he, "doesn't have time to bleed" and goes to hunt him down.

 

[YankeesFanboy]

I'm just glad that the movie didn't show him shooting the enemy sniper in the eye through his own scope.

That has happened...

Hathcock did it. Go to 52:00.

 

[Rambler]

Thanks for the link yankee. I'm gonna have to watch that later tonight.

 

[YankeesFanboy]

No problem, buddy. I've seen all three of the sniper docs on either of the two History Channels. I highly recommend them.

Snipers have been and will continue to be controversial. Are they heroes or cowards? It's all perspective, I guess. One of my college friends, his grandfather was an Italian sniper in WWII. He killed a lot of Allied soldiers.

 

[a-dev]

Well they're a strategic necessity. I imagine the type of person who is capable of doing what a Sniper does is probably not the kind of person I would personally like but I can see how they are needed. I just think it's a huge pity that they are needed, or that even normal infantry soldiers are needed. Heck in an ideal world you wouldn't even need Police, everyone would get along and there'd be no crime.

 

[Adolfo]

Hathcock did it. Go to 52:00.

Yes sir he did

 

[Centurion]

Hathcock did it. Go to 52:00.

Thanks for the link.

 

[Khev]

The man who shot Chris Kyle and his friend was just convicted of murder, gets life in prison without possibility of parole:

Jury Returns Guilty Verdict in 'American Sniper' Trial | NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth