Ana De Armas Fans Win Lawsuit Against Film Studio Over Deceptive Movie Trailers, False Advertising

The public might no longer see deceptive trailers after a federal judge has ruled in favor of two Ana de Armas fans who sued Universal Studios for false advertising in the trailer for the 2019 movie "Yesterday."

According to IGN, the trailer included clips of the Cuban actress, so her two fans, Paul Michael Rosza and Conor Woulfe, rented out "Yesterday" but discovered that she was cut out of the final film. The feeling of being conned reportedly led them to file a lawsuit against Universal Studios in January for false advertising.

Variety reported that U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson ruled on Tuesday that movie studios can be sued under false advertising laws should they release deceptive movie trailers.

Universal originally cast De Armas as a love interest of lead actor Himesh Patel in "Yesterday." However, she was cut out entirely from the film's final edit, as they found that the audience did not like the idea of Patel's character moving on from his previous love interest, played by Lily James.

Universal Studios Tried to Throw Out Lawsuit From 2 Ana de Armas Fans

At first, Universal Studios tried to throw out the lawsuit on the ground that movie trailers are protected by the First Amendment. Universal lawyers argued that a trailer was an "artistic, expressive work" that conveyed the film's theme inside a three-minute story. They noted that it should be considered "non-commercial" speech.

However, the judge rejected this argument as he found that trailers are still a form of commercial speech, which means that it is still subject to the California False Adverting Law and the California Unfair Competition Law.

In his ruling, Stephen Wilson wrote that while he finds Universal Studios' argument is correct that "trailers involve some creativity and editorial discretion," this creativity does not outweigh its "commercial nature."

"At its core, a trailer is an advertisement designed to sell a movie by providing consumers with a preview of the movie," the judge noted.

Ruling Could Change How Movie Studios Release Trailers in the Future

Deadline reported that moving forward, the public might see changes in how movie studios release trailers to hype fans up to an upcoming movie.

While the judge admitted that the decision is only limited to whether or not the trailer misrepresented that Ana de Armas was in the film, the ruling could make things more complicated in Hollywood.

While Deadline pointed out that this was not the first time an actor appeared in the film but did not make it to the final cut, studios may start to tone down their trailers or risk losing big bucks.

The plaintiffs, Conor Woulfe and Peter Michael Rosza, have paid $3.99 each to rent "Yesterday" on Amazon Prime. They are reportedly seeking $5 million as representatives of a class of movie customers.

Variety reported that the case will proceed to discovery and a motion for class certification.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Yesterday - Deleted Scene with Ana de Armas - From Ed Au