A federal judge ruled Tuesday that movie studios can be sued over false advertising in movie trailers.
The trailer for Yesterday was used in the decision to rent the movie on Amazon Prime. They are pursuing a $5 million lawsuit as representatives of a class of movie customers who were deceived by the trailer, after they found out she wasn't in the film.
US District Judge Stephen Wilson rejected Universal's attempt to dismiss the whole case on Tuesday.
The lawsuit should be thrown out because movie trailers should be protected. The trailer is an artistic work that conveys the theme of the film, not a commercial that would be covered by rules against false advertising, they said.
Lawyers for Universal argued in a motion that the Yesterday trailer is an expression of work in its own right and may not be subjected to the same First Amendment protections.
Lawyers for the couple said they have never seen an actor in a trailer who wasn't in the movie. Universal had been accused of violating California's false advertising and unfair competition laws.
In yesterday, a struggling musician wakes up in a world where the Beatles never existed.
The film's writer told Cinemablend that De Armas was cut from the film due to the fact that the audience didn't like the idea of James straying from her.
The UK film premiere of Yesterday was held in London.
Wiktor Szymanowicz / Future Publishing / Future Publishing via Getty ImagesAccording to the lawsuit, Universal exploited de Armas' fame, radiance, and brilliance to promote the film, because every other actor in the film had a "largely unknown" personality.
Representatives for de Armas and lawyers for Universal didn't reply to a request for comment.
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