Clint Eastwood Says 'American Sniper' Makes An Anti-War Statement

Cavan Sieczkowski
Updated
BEVERLY HILLS, CA - JANUARY 09: Actor Clint Eastwood attends the 15th Annual AFI Awards at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on January 9, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images) (Photo: )
BEVERLY HILLS, CA - JANUARY 09: Actor Clint Eastwood attends the 15th Annual AFI Awards at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on January 9, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images) (Photo: )

According to director Clint Eastwood, "American Sniper" makes an anti-war statement.

Eastwood made the remark Saturday while attending the Producers Guild Award Nominees Breakfast, hosted by The Hollywood Reporter at the Saban Theater in Beverly Hills. He discussed his highly publicized war drama starring Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle, the "most lethal" sniper in U.S. history.

"The biggest anti-war statement any film" can make is to show "the fact of what [war] does to the family and the people who have to go back into civilian life like Chris Kyle did," Eastwood said, per The Hollywood Reporter.

"One of my favorite war movies that I've been involved with is 'Letters from Iwo Jima,'" he continued. "And that was about family, about being taken away from life, being sent someplace. In World War II, everybody just sort of went home and got over it. Now there is some effort to help people through it. In Chris Kyle's case no good deed went unpunished."

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"American Sniper" depicts the life of Kyle, a Navy SEAL who served in the Iraq War. The film has been criticized for portraying Kyle as a hero. The Guardian's Lindy West referred to him as a "racist who took pleasure in dehumanizing and killing brown people." Rolling Stone journalist Matt Taibbi called the movie "almost too dumb to criticize," pointing out the moral issue of weaving a story thread about "a killing machine with a heart of gold."

Still, Eastwood insists that he never intended to make a political statement with the piece.

“Pardon me for sounding defensive, but it certainly has nothing to do with any [political] parties or anything,” the 84-year-old told the Star earlier this month. “These fellows who are professional soldiers, Navy personnel or what have you, go in for a certain reason. Their commander-in-chief [President Barack Obama] is a Democrat and the administration is, and there’s no political aspect there other than the fact that a lot of things happen in war zones.”

"American Sniper," a nominee for Best Picture at the 2015 Academy Awards, has grossed over $200 million since its release in December.

Bradley Cooper

Nominated for Best Actor in "American Sniper."
Nominated for Best Actor in "American Sniper."

Wes Anderson

Nominated for Best Director for "The Grand Budapest Hotel."
Nominated for Best Director for "The Grand Budapest Hotel."

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

Nominated for best Director for "Birdman"
Nominated for best Director for "Birdman"

Richard Linklater

Nominated for best Director for "Boyhood"
Nominated for best Director for "Boyhood"

Bennett Miller

Nominated for best Director for "Foxcatcher"
Nominated for best Director for "Foxcatcher"

Morten Tyldum

Nominated for best Director for "The Imitation Game"
Nominated for best Director for "The Imitation Game"

Marion Cotillard

Nominated for Best Actress in “Two Days, One Night.”
Nominated for Best Actress in “Two Days, One Night.”

Felicity Jones

Nominated for Best Actress in "The Theory of Everything."
Nominated for Best Actress in "The Theory of Everything."

Julianne Moore

Nominated for Best Actress in "Still Alice."
Nominated for Best Actress in "Still Alice."

Rosamund Pike

Nominated for Best Actress in "Gone Girl."
Nominated for Best Actress in "Gone Girl."

Reese Witherspoon

Nominated for Best Actress in "Wild."
Nominated for Best Actress in "Wild."

Steve Carrell

Nominated for Best Actor in "Foxcatcher."
Nominated for Best Actor in "Foxcatcher."

Benedict Cumberbatch

Nominated for Best Actor in "The Imitation Game."
Nominated for Best Actor in "The Imitation Game."

Michael Keaton

Nominated for Best Actor in "Birdman."
Nominated for Best Actor in "Birdman."

Robert Duvall

Nominated for Best Supporting Actor in "The Judge."
Nominated for Best Supporting Actor in "The Judge."

Ethan Hawke

Nominated for Best Supporting Actor in "Boyhood."
Nominated for Best Supporting Actor in "Boyhood."

Edward Norton

Nominated for Best Supporting Actor in "Birdman."
Nominated for Best Supporting Actor in "Birdman."

Mark Ruffalo

Nominated for Best Supporting Actor in "Foxcatcher."
Nominated for Best Supporting Actor in "Foxcatcher."

JK Simmons Portrait Session

American actor in the 2014 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize-winning film "Whiplash" J.K. Simmons poses for a portrait, on Monday, Sept. 29, 2014 in New York. (Photo by Dan Hallman/Invision/AP)
American actor in the 2014 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize-winning film "Whiplash" J.K. Simmons poses for a portrait, on Monday, Sept. 29, 2014 in New York. (Photo by Dan Hallman/Invision/AP)

Patricia Arquette

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress in "Boyhood."
Nominated for Best Supporting Actress in "Boyhood."

Laura Dern

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress in "Wild."
Nominated for Best Supporting Actress in "Wild."

Keira Knightley

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress in "The Imitation Game."
Nominated for Best Supporting Actress in "The Imitation Game."

Emma Stone

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress In "Birdman."
Nominated for Best Supporting Actress In "Birdman."

Meryl Streep

Nominated for Best Supporting Actress in "Into The Woods."
Nominated for Best Supporting Actress in "Into The Woods."

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.