California resident Michael Rosza in October watched the trailer for Universal’s Yesterday and thought that Ana de Armas played a substantial role in the romantic comedy. But upon renting it, he discovered that de Armas doesn’t appear in the movie.
Rosa and Maryland resident Conor Woulfe are now suing Universal in a proposed class action alleging they were baited into watching Yesterday. The film hit theaters in June 2019 and grossed $154 million globally.
“Although Defendant included the scenes with Ms. De Armas in the movie trailer advertisements, for the purposes of promoting Yesterday and enticing film sales and rentals, Ms. De Armas is not and was never in the publicly released version of the movie,” states the complaint filed in California federal court on Friday.
Yesterday stars Himesh Patel as Jack Malik, a struggling singer who becomes famous after discovering that he’s the only person in the world to remember The Beatles.
De Armas, who has appeared in movies such as Blade Runner 2049, War Dogs and Knives Out, was initially cast to appear as a love interest for Malik, but her scenes were cut in the final version of the film. The trailer prominently displays her and Malik on the set of James Corden’s talk show.
“Unable to rely on fame of the actors playing Jack Malik or Ellie to maximize ticket and movie sales and rentals, Defendant consequently used Ms. De Armas’s fame, radiance and brilliance to promote the film by including her scenes in the movie trailers advertising Yesterday,” the lawsuit reads.
The complaint also alleges that Universal duped viewers by featuring in the trailer a scene that was ultimately cut in which Malik plays The Beatles’ song “Something.” It claims that the trailer piggybacked off of the popularity of the song by tricking viewers into believing that it will be in the movie.
The lawsuit accuses Universal of false advertisement, unjust enrichment and violating competition laws, among other claims. It seeks at least $5 million on behalf of California and Maryland residents who paid to watch Yesterday.
Rosza and Woulfe are represented by Los Angeles attorney Cody R. LeJeune.
Universal didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
Source: Hollywood
