Poll: Public rooting for ‘American Sniper’

The public hopes “American Sniper” takes home the Academy Award for Best Picture, according to a poll released Tuesday.

A survey of registered voters conducted by Vox Populi Polling finds Americans are rooting for the controversial film about real-life Navy SEAL Chris Kyle more than any other nominated movie.

{mosads}Thirty-eight percent of those polled said “American Sniper” should take home the biggest prize of the night at this Sunday’s Oscars ceremony, while 14 percent chose the civil rights-era film “Selma,” and six percent picked “The Imitation Game.”

Nine percent of the survey’s more than 800 participants responded that none of the nominated movies should get the Best Picture nod.

The majority of those polled said they “strongly disagree” with filmmaker Michael Moore’s comments related to “American Sniper.” In a tweet last month, the “Fahrenheit 9/11” director wrote that his uncle was killed by a sniper in World War II, saying, “We were taught snipers were cowards. Will shoot u in the back. Snipers aren’t heroes. And invaders r worse.”

Fifty-five percent of the respondents — the poll was about evenly split between Democrats, Republicans, and independents — said they “strongly disagree” with the remarks. Seven percent said they “strongly agree.” Moore later said his Twitter message was not referring to “American Sniper.”

When asked about the biggest snub at this year’s Oscars, respondents replied that it also involved “American Sniper”: 37 percent indicated that the most blatant oversight was that the movie’s director, Clint Eastwood, was not nominated in the Best Director category. Some 15 percent said the biggest snub was “The Lego Movie” not getting a nomination in the Best Animated Feature category, and 14 percent responded that actor David Oyelowo, who plays Martin Luther King, Jr., in “Selma,” should not have been shut out of the Best Actor category.