t+ n7 I) l% Q% RJesus could turn water into wine, but he certainly didn't drink Coca-Cola.! D9 N( `2 m8 o6 K0 g/ ^3 K) G
" [3 O5 y$ }' P! S/ X) F* s% c- `At least according to Coca-Cola Italia, a division of the soda-maker that has moved to stop an Italian filmmaker from releasing a modern-day version of the life of Christ that features Jesus polishing off a can of Coke, the Times of London reports.! M' r! G, j% }( v
; [" w, R/ p( [# n! G4 C7 mIn Claudio Malaponti's "Seven Kilometers From Jerusalem," Jesus drinks the soft drink during a dusty Jeep ride through the desert. ( J( C4 L. c1 j7 f7 S9 k % W- ?, t' ~8 LCoca-Cola Italia wants the scene to be cut before the film's Friday release. It's a demand the filmmaker thinks is ridiculous. ! B8 L% Z# w4 p! ?) s) Y1 p8 H) T2 ]9 Y0 [: ~8 N3 B
“The Pope did not object to the Coca-Cola scene," Malaponti said. "It is a coherent part of a film in which Jesus is portrayed as the greatest communicator of all time. This is a profoundly religious film.” 0 K# r, a3 C a5 A7 \5 Q, a+ e9 i/ A5 `( S& Y" R
But company officials are adamant that the scene portrays the soda-maker in a negative light. "We are not interested in this kind of product placement," a spokeswoman for the company told the paper.
