B# \6 ~; D& SJesus could turn water into wine, but he certainly didn't drink Coca-Cola. # X. |3 `5 P. R" X; t ; y% {0 a8 F( U, lAt 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." W2 F, [! k/ b$ n
) g1 U r8 Z! M; PIn Claudio Malaponti's "Seven Kilometers From Jerusalem," Jesus drinks the soft drink during a dusty Jeep ride through the desert.( P8 Q2 \' O# h( ]- J2 \2 D
, ~8 E5 T2 q) H( w g" h4 xCoca-Cola Italia wants the scene to be cut before the film's Friday release. It's a demand the filmmaker thinks is ridiculous. 7 S; {6 g( x0 N5 c. d: U / r& D+ u: d/ p; 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.” $ w# f: q6 Y i3 E6 \5 P4 A$ J7 t9 W+ a3 m" K3 n
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.
