Monster Mash: Catholic Church sues over Rio’s Christ statue; Abel Ferrara headed to Broadway; Indian artist offered sanctuary

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-- Iconic figure: Brazil’s Catholic Church is suing Columbia Pictures for using what it claims to be unauthorized images of Rio’s famous ‘Christ the Redeemer’ statue in the recent movie ‘2012.’ (Agence France-Presse)

-- Career makeover: Filmmaker Abel Ferrara (‘Bad Lieutenant,’ ‘King of New York’) is set to make his Broadway directorial debut with a revival of Miguel Pinero’s ‘Short Eyes’ in the 2010-11 season. (Variety, via Playbill)

-- Sanctuary: Indian artist MF Husain has been offered Qatari nationality after receiving threats from hard-line Hindus for his paintings of nude Hindu goddesses. (BBC News)

-- We’re sorry: The city of Temecula has apologized to the artist whose portrait showing a nude woman was not allowed to be part of a show in a city-owned building. (Press-Enterprise)

-- Treasure trove: A look into Jeff Koons’ personal art collection. (New York Times)

-- New rule: The National Archives has decided to ban all photography in the Rotunda, where historical documents are displayed. (NPR)

-- Chopping block: In Britain, local leaders have warned that financial support for the arts across the country is threatened with cuts of as much as 20% from 2011 to 2014. (The Stage UK)

-- Popular attraction: The 2010 cultural Olympiad in Vancouver will draw approximately 1.5 million people. (Vancouver Sun)

-- Shape up: The Berlin Philharmonic has strong words for Salzburg politicians to clean up the Easter Festival following a fraud scandal. (Bloomberg)

-- Masterpieces: The North Carolina Museum of Art is receiving a gift of four paintings by European masters, including Picasso’s ‘Seated Woman, Red and Yellow Background’ (1952). (Art Daily)

-- And in the L.A. Times: Music critic Mark Swed discusses the ‘Shutter Island’ soundtrack; the Getty Conservation Institute is partnering with Disney on a study of animation cel artwork.

-- David Ng