Posted Fri Feb 26, 2010 12:34pm AEDT
Brazil's Catholic Church is suing Hollywood for using unauthorised images of Rio de Janeiro's famous Christ statue in its disaster movie 2012.
The city's archdiocese is demanding unspecified damages and interest from Columbia Pictures for showing the iconic landmark being destroyed in a worldwide apocalypse in the film that came out last year.
The archdiocese manages copyright issues related to the 40-metre statue which overlooks Rio with its arms outstretched.
Under Brazilian law, copyright resides in the author of a work until his death and is then passed on to his heirs or estate or successor entity for another 70 years.
Christ The Redeemer was created by Paul Landowski, a French artist of Polish descent, on commission from the Rio archdiocese and erected in 1931.
Landowski died in 1961, meaning the archdiocese holds copyright until 2032. The sculpture will then become part of the public domain.
Lawyer Claudine Dutra says the archdiocese allows use of images of the statue "in 99 per cent of cases".
But it turned down the film studio's request to show the statue being destroyed by a giant wave.
"The archdiocese refused the use of the religious symbol during pre-production of the movie, but Columbia Pictures did not respect the prohibition," Ms Dutra said.
Ms Dutra added that "many faithful have said they are shocked and offended by the images of the destruction of this sanctuary that the archdiocese wanted to preserve".
"We want Columbia Pictures to publicly declare that it did not intend to cause offence."
The statue is Brazil's most visited tourist monument, with 1.8 million visitors a year.
It is one of the best-known modern landmarks in the world, along with Paris's Eiffel Tower, Washington's White House and Sydney's Opera House.
- AFP
Brazil's Catholic Church is suing Hollywood for using unauthorised images of Rio de Janeiro's famous Christ statue in its disaster movie 2012.
The city's archdiocese is demanding unspecified damages and interest from Columbia Pictures for showing the iconic landmark being destroyed in a worldwide apocalypse in the film that came out last year.
The archdiocese manages copyright issues related to the 40-metre statue which overlooks Rio with its arms outstretched.
Under Brazilian law, copyright resides in the author of a work until his death and is then passed on to his heirs or estate or successor entity for another 70 years.
Christ The Redeemer was created by Paul Landowski, a French artist of Polish descent, on commission from the Rio archdiocese and erected in 1931.
Landowski died in 1961, meaning the archdiocese holds copyright until 2032. The sculpture will then become part of the public domain.
Lawyer Claudine Dutra says the archdiocese allows use of images of the statue "in 99 per cent of cases".
But it turned down the film studio's request to show the statue being destroyed by a giant wave.
"The archdiocese refused the use of the religious symbol during pre-production of the movie, but Columbia Pictures did not respect the prohibition," Ms Dutra said.
Ms Dutra added that "many faithful have said they are shocked and offended by the images of the destruction of this sanctuary that the archdiocese wanted to preserve".
"We want Columbia Pictures to publicly declare that it did not intend to cause offence."
The statue is Brazil's most visited tourist monument, with 1.8 million visitors a year.
It is one of the best-known modern landmarks in the world, along with Paris's Eiffel Tower, Washington's White House and Sydney's Opera House.
- AFP
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