This was posted by Taya today via Facebook,
The American Sniper movie is coming out late 2014 for limited release with full release January of 2015. This is the trailer. Click on it and turn the volume all the way up for the full effect.
Many people have asked me how I feel about this movie. The process has been terrifying, beautiful, nerve-wracking and finally…peaceful. At some point along the way I realised the people involved in the making of this movie cared more than they cared about most movies. They became involved on a personal level for our family and perhaps more importantly, for all military families.
American Sniper has always been a story about a collective experience. Chris's and my story has specific differences, but the essence of our story is the essence of all warriors from all different time periods. After the book came out, Chris and I heard from many veterans from many of our country's wars who expressed gratitude for our putting forth the real experiences they and their families faced when they were on the battlefield. It was that communication that put Chris and me at ease with all of the publicity. In telling the collective story, we found an opportunity to serve through the American Sniper book and the upcoming movie.
With each post, I try to give you all a snapshot of what I feel at the moment. With the release of the trailer, what I feel is immense gratitude.
Jason Hall is the screenwriter for the movie. Jason and I spent hundreds of hours after Chris's death talking on the phone. He listened and grieved with me as I cried, laughed and sobbed my way through my life with Chris and the intricacies of the man I love. Jason, thank you for your patience, your heart and your counsel while you were capturing the essence and the details of our life. Thank you for painstakingly getting every detail right as you attempted the impossible - putting a hero's whole life into a 2 hour time frame. You are amazing. Please thank your gorgeous wife again for me - for her understanding of your long hours in our work to get this right. You both will always have a place in my heart.
Bradley Cooper spearheaded the effort to have our story brought to the big screen. I will never have the words to express to you the dedication and love Bradley brought to this role. From the beginning Bradley understood the depth of the man and all service members who put it all on the line for our freedom. He also had a hearty laugh and great sense of humour when he talked with Chris before February 2013. As he dove deeper into the man, the family, the service and the training a transformation unlike anything else I have seen, became earth-shatteringly apparent. I remember crying, actually probably sobbing, with Bradley feeling a desperation and failure to communicate everything about the man, the whole man, he was about to portray. Bradley put me at ease and I began to understand, this was not on me. Bradley is dedicated beyond what I believe anyone else would have been. He slept, ate, breathed, worked out, talked like, and trained like Chris. He played with my kids, laid on the floor with my dogs and put in untold hours understanding the intimate details of what made Chris who he was. He has always had love and respect for our military and clearly took on the added responsibility of honouring all of our service members through his work…That in itself was all I needed to know about how Bradley was THE ONE who was meant to bring Chris to all of us in this movie. Bradley, I have immense love, respect and admiration for you and how you poured your talent, skill, your heart and ultimately yourself into this movie. You went beyond nailing it. I sometimes don't know if it is Chris or you on the screen. You did it!
Clint Eastwood. I remember standing in my kitchen with Chris talking about who might direct the American Sniper movie. At one point we both stopped as we imagined how "badass" it would be to have Clint Eastwood direct it. We laughed and blew it off as we just knew that would never happen. What do they say about what God laughs at? Our plans. Because only God knows how things go. We surely didn't. After Chris was killed, a series of events concerning the movie unfolded and I found out Clint Eastwood was in fact the director. I remember getting chills all over and smiling as I thought, "Chris…. are you behind this??". A private man with a public life, a cowboy, a legend, a man with heart and wisdom… Clint Eastwood. Who better to direct a movie about Chris Kyle? I was in awe. Then I met Clint. A man with a quiet way, a gentle confidence, a sense of humour and an innate understanding of what makes a man, what makes a life, what makes a story…Thank you Clint. As Clint softly told me with intense emotion in his face, "Taya, your story…It has my heart." Clint, it sure does. I can see it in your work. Thank you isn't adequate, but it's all I have right now. Unending gratitude.
And then Sienna Miller was cast in the role of Taya. Everyone involved in the movie was so excited when Sienna auditioned. In my first conversation with her, I understood why. My only request to the movie people was that they find a woman who had lived. Really lived. Someone who knew pain and love and preferably someone who had a child of their own. It was Sienna's immense talent that landed her the role. It was merely a comfort to me to know that she fit the only criteria I asked for. From our first conversation I knew, this was a woman who "got it." I wondered if it was her talent and skill in acting that made me feel like she was a long-time friend from day one. I quickly learned that it was the opposite. It is her genuine nature and her depth of soul that made our conversations easy. As she laughed with me, cried with me, talked to my kids as only a mom would and FELT the love I have for Chris…I knew she was the one. Once again, everyone involved in the story had depth, character and a deep understanding of what this movie will mean to not only our family, but all military and first responder families. The military women I know will be grateful for Sienna's heart and strength as she showcases what it is like to love with all of your heart, to have strength through pain and ultimately to be the wife of a warrior. I look forward to many more laughs with you and hopefully fewer tears . You are simply amazing.
I could go on and on (you all know that by now
) But, I need to wrap this up before Facebook bans me from the site due to an overload of words - taking up too much cyberspace with my ramblings . So quickly I will tell you one more thing that many of you may not have known otherwise…..The rest of the people (and there are many) who worked long hours on this movie - went above and beyond. Rob Lorenz… amazing man with a quiet way and unique ability to put others at ease with his patient listening and understanding of the pain and beauty involved in a human life full of trauma, love, passion and resilience. Andrew Lazar - producer, and the men and women who worked on props, outfits (costumes) and all the rest - they did more than they had to. They did it for authenticity but they went above and beyond to create a movie my family can cherish because it really is us. They didn't have to find the cars, the cell phones, the outfits we actually wore. The audience wouldn't know the difference. It wouldn't effect the movie, the sales or the reception of the movie. They did it anyway. I am in awe of what you accomplished.
Our life has always been a love story. Love between Chris and me and our children. Love of God and country. Love of the brotherhood and all of the men and women who have served before and who serve now. With this movie, I continue to have love for the author who helped us write the book, Jim DeFelice, and now the love story has grown to include the love I have for all of the men and women who put their heart and soul into the American Sniper movie. The movie about America - the families, the service, the sacrifice and the real stories that live in the fabric of the red, white and blue.
God Bless all of you.
United We Stand,
Taya
Micah 6:8
