According to website businessandleadership.com, brewer Budweiser and vodka maker Stolichnaya have asked to be blurred out of an upcoming Hollywood movie starring Denzel Washington due to the negative connotations alcohol has in the film.

The movie in question, ‘Flight’, focuses on a pilot with an alcohol problem (Denzel Washington), who becomes a hero when he saves the lives of a number of people following a plane crash.

However, businessandleadership.com reports that the brands are unhappy with their association to the film. Especially the scenes where Washington is shown drink-driving.

In a reaction to Reuters, vice-president of Budweiser, Robert McCarthy, said: ‘It is disappointing that Image Movers, the production company, and Paramount chose to use one of our brands in this manner.’ It was also reported that Budweiser has communicated they do not want their name attached to alcoholism.

The makers of Stolichnaya vodka are quoted as saying that they were “dismayed” the film-makers had chosen to use the brand in the movie. They have asked Paramount to remove any reference to Stolichnaya from the film and all subsequent adaptations.

However under fair usage rules, which allow brands to be used without advance permission, Paramount is not obliged to remove the labels. The unedited edition of Flight was released in US theaters last weekend and opened with $25 million at the box office.

Source: businessandleadership.com 11/02/12
Foodista.com 11/07/12

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