Studios can be sued for misleading trailers

Studios can be sued for misleading trailers

Did you see the trailer for RomCom Yesterday three years ago and only bought a ticket because of the short appearance of Ana de Armas? If so, you should caught cold in the cinema to have. Because the actress known from Blade Runner 2049 and Knives Out does not appear for a second in the finished film.

That’s what happened to two fans who rented the film from Amazon Prime for $3.99 just because of de Armas’ alleged involvement. After the disappointing film they are taken to court and have sued the studio responsible, Universal, for damages of at least five million US dollars.

Art or (Misleading) Advertising: The Big Trailer Question

As Variety reports, the case, which remains in court, has now made significant progress. The responsible judge, US District Judge Stephen Wilson, has ruled that a trailer is quite against the Misleading Advertising Act may be violated and the action is accordingly admissible.

Universal has argued for the past few months that trailers are an art in themselves. In a few minutes a story will be told that consciously uses stylistic devices etc. One of the examples listed: The strong teaser trailer for Jurassic Park, which consists exclusively of shots that do not appear in the film.

You can watch the teaser trailer for Jurassic Park here:

Jurassic Park – Teaser Trailer (English)

Are trailers art or advertising? That was the big debate in the last few months in the case. Now Judge Wilson has made it clear:

Universal is correct that trailers require a certain amount of creativity and editorial discretion, but that creativity doesn’t outweigh the commercial nature of a trailer. At its core, a trailer is an advertisementwhich aims to sell a film by providing consumers with a preview of the film.

That doesn’t mean, however, that you can now sue any studio as soon as a trailer has slightly misled you. The court emphasizes that significant number of people must be deceived and it is not just about the personal well-being of a single person. Judge Wilson also qualified:

The court’s decision is limited to representations as to whether a actress or scene occurs in the film and nothing else.

Now we can be curious to see how the case develops from now on. On final verdict has not yet been pronounced. It is also unclear how much compensation the plaintiffs will ultimately receive. In Hollywood, however, the latest developments are causing a stir. Last but not least, many trailers deliberately play with the expectations of the audience.

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Which trailers really misled you?

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