Plot

U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) is sent to Iraq on a mission to protect his brothers-in-arms.

Cast

• Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle^[1]
• Sienna Miller as Taya Renae Kyle^[2]
• Max Charles as Colton Kyle^[3]
• Luke Grimes^[4]
• Kyle Gallner as Winston^[5]
• Sam Jaeger as Captain Martens^[6]
• Jake McDorman as Ryan Job^[7]
• Cory Hardrict^[8]
• Navid Negahban^[9]
• Eric Close^[9]
• Eric Ladin as Squirrel^[9]
• Joel Lambert^[10]
• Rey Gallegos^[9]
• Kevin Lacz as himself^[11]

Production

On May 24, 2012, it was announced Warner Bros. had acquired the rights to the book with Bradley Cooper set to produce and star in the film.^[1] In September 2012, David O. Russell stated that he was interested in directing the film.^[12] On May 2, 2013, it was announced that Steven Spielberg would direct the film.^[13] On August 5, 2013, Spielberg dropped out of directing the film.^[14] On August 21, 2013, it was reported that Clint Eastwood would instead direct the film.^[15] On March 14, 2014, Sienna Miller joined the cast of the film.^[2] On March 16, 2014, Kyle Gallner was cast.^[5] On March 18, 2014, Cory Hardrict was cast in the film.^[8] On March 20, 2014, Navid Negahban, Eric Close, Eric Ladin, Rey Gallegos and Jake McDorman also joined the cast, as did^[7][9] Luke Grimes and Sam Jaeger, on March 25, 2014.^[4][6] Kevin Lacz, a former Navy SEAL, is portraying himself and serving as a technical advisor.^[11] Another former Navy SEAL, Joel Lambert, also joined the film; he'll portray a Delta sniper.^[10] On June 3, Max Charles was added to the cast to portray Kyle's son, Colton Kyle.^[3]

Filming

Principal photography and production began on March 31, 2014 in Los Angeles;^[16] it was also partly shot in Morocco.^[17] On April 23, LA Times reported that 10 days of filming in an Afghan village was set to begin at the Blue Cloud Movie Ranch in the Santa Clarita area.^[18] On May 7, shooting of the film was spotted around El Centro.^[19][20] Later on May 14, Cooper was spotted filming some scenes in Culver City, California,^[21] and then he followed by shooting scenes again in Los Angeles on May 16.^[22] On May 30, Cooper and Miller were spotted during the filming of their characters' wedding scenes; they were filming aboard a yacht in Marina del Rey.^[23] On June 3, Cooper was spotted in the form of a Navy SEAL marksman aiming during the filming of some scenes at a Los Angeles shooting range.^[24]

Release

On August 12, 2014, it was announced that the film would receive a limited release on December 25, 2014, before opening wide on January 16, 2015.^[25]