The Baby in 'American Sniper' Is So, So Fake

"American Sniper" is, by most critics' accounts, a terrific movie. Bradley Cooper shines in his true-to-life role as the deadliest sniper in U.S. military history, and director Clint Eastwood built the movie well enough to earn it a spot on the Best Picture nominee lists at almost all awards shows this season.

So, why is the Internet mocking the movie today?

A scene from the movie has made its way online, showing Cooper and his co-star Sienna Miller in character handling their baby. However, it becomes clear pretty quickly that they aren't holding a real baby. In fact, they aren't even holding a fancy animatronic baby. It's just a plastic doll.

Screenwriter Jason Hall tweeted that the real baby they were supposed to use for the scene got the flu, and the backup baby cast for the role didn't show up for the shoot, so the production was forced to use a plastic doll as a stand-in.

Cooper tries valiantly to make the baby look realistic (he even jiggles the doll's hand at one point), but it's difficult to fool a movie audience watching on a huge screen in high definition.

It's probably a bit embarrassing for Eastwood and the production, but we bet they aren't feeling too bad about it: "American Sniper" has not only earned a heap of awards nominations including an Oscar nod for Best Picture, but it also cracked $100 million in its first weekend in wide release, setting a January box office record.