! {7 D9 t( u& m" I5 iJesus could turn water into wine, but he certainly didn't drink Coca-Cola. ) z# j( h- C' } * P# _! @% ~/ f6 vAt 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.+ L% l6 p; t7 e% q5 U
1 V! W4 K* D9 A7 i: r6 Y6 J
In Claudio Malaponti's "Seven Kilometers From Jerusalem," Jesus drinks the soft drink during a dusty Jeep ride through the desert. , W% h( \$ _& o& M7 w $ W8 ~/ r4 \) FCoca-Cola Italia wants the scene to be cut before the film's Friday release. It's a demand the filmmaker thinks is ridiculous. 8 R; `/ Q6 }. [# \ - Q* x" W# M3 N* i“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.”& P. f+ i4 r8 d; d# |
6 Y, d& i, o) m) ^# [ W- z
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.
