Image via Universal
Movie studios can no longer get away with deceptive movie trailers thanks to a new ruling in a United States District Court.
According to Variety, U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson ruled that movie studios can be sued under false advertising laws should a movie trailer be deceptive. The case was brought to the court’s attention over the 2019 movie Yesterday, which stars Himesh Patel as a man in a world without the Beatles.
The trailer for Yesterday included clips of Ana de Armas, who is known for famous roles in The Gray Man and Knives Out. Two fans of Ana de Armas had filed a lawsuit in January, alleging they had rented Yesterday after seeing her in the trailer.
Upon discovering that de Armas was cut out of the final film, they were obviously disappointed.
Ana de Armas was supposed to play a love interest for Patel’s character. She was later cut out of the film entirely because audiences didn’t like the idea of Patel moving on from his primary love interest.
Universal had tried to throw the lawsuit out, claiming that movie trailers are entitled to protection under the First Amendment. Universal claimed that movie trailers are “artistic, expressive work” and should be considered as “non-commercial” speech.
Judge Wilson rejected the argument and stated that a trailer is commercial speech. As a result of this, trailers are subject to the California False Advertising Law and the state’s Unfair Competition Law.
“Universal is correct that trailers involve some creativity and editorial discretion, but this creativity does not outweigh the commercial nature of a trailer,” Wilson wrote. “At its core, a trailer is an advertisement designed to sell a movie by providing consumers with a preview of the movie.”
It has happened before where movie trailers include footage that doesn’t appear in the final release version of the film. However, with this new ruling, it looks like studios can be sued for this practice.
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Zainah Yousef
Zainah Yousef is the author of The Fallen Age Saga and specializes in gaming, social media advice, and reviews. She's been writing all her life and she probably won't stop anytime soon.
