Fans demand millions in compensation: Actress in trailer, but not in film

This is a “class action case,” which means the case was brought on behalf of a large group of people. Film producer Universal had asked the court to declare the claim unfounded, but has now ruled the lawsuit can continue, writes the BBC.

‘Otherwise not rented’

The case was initially brought by two moviegoers, Conor Woulfe and Peter Michael Rosza. They rented the movie Yesterday through the Amazon Prime streaming service for $3.99 because they expected to see De Armas in it. The actress, known from the James Bond films Die and Blonde in which she plays Marilyn Monroe, was in the trailer, but she was nowhere in the film itself.

This to the great disappointment of the complainants. They maintain that they would not have rented the film if they had known that De Armas was missing. They now claim “at least 5 million dollars”. They must share any compensation with all claimants. How many there are is not yet known. Here you can see the offending trailer (De Armas can be seen from 1:48):

The studio believes the complaint has no legal basis, as the trailer should be protected as an “artistic product” under freedom of expression. But the the judge ruled that it is a “commercial product”. Therefore, it must comply with other laws that protect consumers from misleading advertising. Now a judge must hear the case.

“Basically, a trailer is an advertisement that is intended to sell a film to consumers,” the ruling reads.

The Beatles

Lawyers for the film studio say the decision sets a dangerous precedent. Many movie trailers contain scenes that don’t end up in the movie. This would allow anyone to complain later that the movie didn’t live up to expectations. entertainment website The variety calls it in an article a real risk for film studios.

But according to the judge, this only applies if “a large number of reasonable people” have reason to feel cheated. In the case of Hollywood star De Armas, moviegoers should have expected her to play a major role in the film.

Yesterday is about a failed musician who discovers that he is the only person in the world who knows the work of the Beatles. He then achieved great success with the music of the Liverpool group.