HOLLYWOOD GETTING SUED FOR USING CHRIST STATUE

Hollywood is getting sued for using Rio's famous giant Christ statue in its disaster movie blockbuster "2012".

Rio de Janeiro's archdiocese is demanding unspecified damages and interest from Columbia Pictures for showing the iconic landmark being destroyed in a worldwide apocalypse in a film that came out last year, the archdiocese's attorney, Claudine Dutra, said.

The archdiocese manages copyright issues related to the 40 meter high statue erected in 1931, which overlooks Rio with its arms outreached.

The Christ the Redeemer 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 the copyright until 2032, when the sculpture becomes part of the public domain.