Church to sue Hollywood

The Brazilian Catholic Church sues Hollywood film makers for unauthorized use of Rio de Janeiro's famous Christ the Redeemer statue on the blockbuster file 2012 which was just shown last December in cinemas.
If everyone can (definitely) remember, the Christ the Redeemer statue was destroyed by the massive earthquakes, which occurs simultaneously throughout the world, in the movie. The archdiocese of Brazil allowed use of image but refused the use of the religious symbol on the film being damaged by a giant wave. Columbia Pictures did follow this however they use the icon's destruction on the different approach, which still is against what they have talked about.

The archdiocese manages copyright issues related to the 40-meter (130-foot) high statue erected in 1931, which overlooks Rio with its arms outstretched.

Under Brazilian law, copyright resides in the author of a work until his death, and then is passed on to his heirs or estate or successor entity for another 70 years.
The Christ the Reedemer statue 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, when the sculpture becomes part of the public domain. [Yahoo]

2012 is one of the fave movies I have way back in 2009. But I see why the Brazilian Catholic Church is up to this. It seems like Columbia Pictures did not follow what they have as a deal with the archdiocese. But then let's leave it to both of them. All I can say is, the movie is nice.