Are Deceptive Film Trailers "False Advertisement"?

[Principled Man]

Movie studios can be sued under false advertising laws if they release deceptive movie trailers, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday.

 

U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson issued a ruling in a case involving “Yesterday,” the 2019 film about a world without the Beatles.

 

Two Ana de Armas fans filed a lawsuit in January, alleging that they had rented the movie after seeing de Armas in the trailer, only to discover that she was cut out of the final film.  Universal sought to throw out the lawsuit, arguing that movie trailers are entitled to broad protection under the First Amendment. The studio’s lawyers argued that a trailer is an “artistic, expressive work” that tells a three-minute story conveying the theme of the movie, and should thus be considered “non-commercial” speech.

But Wilson rejected that argument, finding that a trailer is commercial speech and is subject to the California False Adverting Law and the state’s Unfair Competition Law.

 

“Universal is correct that trailers involve some creativity and editorial discretion, but this creativity does not outweigh the commercial nature of a trailer,” Wilson wrote. “At its core, a trailer is an advertisement designed to sell a movie by providing consumers with a preview of the movie.”

 

https://variety.com/2022/film/news/ana-de-armas-yesterday-false-advertising-1235467419/

Edited December 23, 2022 by Principled Man

[invisible airwave]

Ed Sheeran in a trailer is enough for me to skip.

 

This reminds me of that story of someone who hated 2011's Drive.  Funny thing is that it originated as a straight up action movie with Hugh Jackman in the Gosling role.

https://screencrush.com/after-five-years-one-womans-bizarre-drive-lawsuit-rages-on/

 

[treeduck]

I usually avoid trailers. They give away too much of the story and I always remember it later which ruins the film.

[invisible airwave]

9 minutes ago, treeduck said:

I usually avoid trailers. They give away too much of the story and I always remember it later which ruins the film.

To be honest, I didn't see the trailer for Avatar 2 until a couple hours before I saw it in IMAX laser 3D.

[zepphead]

Isn't all advertising to some degree deceptive??

[Maverick]

1 hour ago, zepphead said:

Isn't all advertising to some degree deceptive??

Deceptive in that maybe it shows a product working better than it actually will, or easier to use than it actually is.  And then they put small print disclaimers at the bottom of the screen saying "Results may vary."  Instant indemnity.

Edited December 23, 2022 by Maverick

[Maverick]

In this case, I have to agree with the complainants.

 

It's one thing for a trailer to make a movie look more exciting, funnier, or whatever, than it really is.  A common gripe is that "all the funny parts were in the trailer."  But they were also actually in the movie.

 

Showing an actor or sequence that didn't make the final cut is definitely misleading.

 

Whether or not it is worth suing over is another question.

[Principled Man]

13 minutes ago, Maverick said:

Whether or not it is worth suing over is another question.

 

 

In this case, my answer to that question is a solid NO. 

 

When a minor character is omitted from the final cut, that doesn't merit a legal complaint let alone a $5 million dollar suit.    

[invisible airwave]

6 hours ago, Principled Man said:

 

 

In this case, my answer to that question is a solid NO. 

 

When a minor character is omitted from the final cut, that doesn't merit a legal complaint let alone a $5 million dollar suit.    

Looks at most Terrence Malick movies since The Thin Red Line.  Adrien Brody was let down from his role being cut from what I read.

[Principled Man]

When the first full Avengers Infinity War trailer was released, millions of fans were blown away.  It was SOMETHING!     It got a billion views on YouTube.  

 

The "Money Shot " at the end of the trailer featured Captain America, Black Widow, Bucky Barnes, Black Panther & Okoye, THE HULK, Warhammer and Falcon all running/flying towards us.  Hugely exciting!  BIG battle in Wakanda!  

 

Then the film was released.  No HULK in Wakanda.  We got to see him in the first scene and that was it.      

 

Lawsuit worthy?  Meh.....don't think so.