Studio Can Be Sued Over Misleading Trailer, Judge Rules 0

[Cat]

The ruling means the lawsuit can go ahead to trial. It concerns a film that showed a trailer featuring Ana De Armas, a character who in fact had her entire appearance scrubbed from the final film due to poor test reviews of her character. Someone saw said movie based on their love of De Armas's work and from seeing the trailer, only to find she'd been completely cut from the final product. He then sued the studio in question, who claimed the trailer as a free speech component. The judge has ruled it as commercial speech, and the lawsuit is set to continue. 

The interesting question is: does this open up other films to lawsuits based on their trailers not matching the films they're advertising (looking at you, David Ayers Suicide Squad)? Where is the line? 

What do you think? 

 

Article here: https://www.cbr.com/ana-de-armas-yesterday-lawsuit-misleading-movie-trailers/

[Gatsby77]

Well - I understand a large part of the lawsuit was about featuring an actor who didn't appear at all in the final film.

But I submit my picks for most misleading trailers ever include:

Thelma & Louise

 

[Gatsby77]

And Bridge to Terabithia:

 

[MattTheDuck]

I was hoping we'd have some more things for people to file lawsuits over.  Seriously though that "honest trailers" YouTube channel is going to get mui, mui views.

This guy's lucky I wasn't the Judge on this one as I'd figure out a way for him to cool his heels in Riker's for a couple of years.

 

[eastriver400]

Can studios be sued for misleading movie TITLES?

 

I want to sue for “Freddy Got Fingered”.………… and if the Statute of limitations hasn’t run, then add “Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang” to my suit.

 

VERY misleading. 
 

 

 

 

Edited December 24, 2022 by eastriver400

[D84]

Does this mean I can sue a movie studio if the trailers look good but the movie sucks?

[thehumantorch]

On 12/24/2022 at 3:20 PM, D84 said:

Does this mean I can sue a movie studio if the trailers look good but the movie sucks?

 or if the trailer looks awful but the movie is great?

[Cat]

On 12/25/2022 at 9:52 AM, thehumantorch said:

 or if the trailer looks awful but the movie is great?

"I was too entertained, Your Honour. My phone didn't come out once." 

[rexinnih]

Cue Styx, "Too Much Time on My Hands..."

[jcjames]

On 12/22/2022 at 3:28 PM, Gatsby77 said:

And Bridge to Terabithia:

 

I was just going to say this one.

Terrible bait and switch, especially aimed at little kids. 

[Juno Beach]

On 12/22/2022 at 2:26 PM, Gatsby77 said:

Well - I understand a large part of the lawsuit was about featuring an actor who didn't appear at all in the final film.

But I submit my picks for most misleading trailers ever include:

Thelma & Louise

 

They show them pulling a gun on a cop, how did you think it was going to end?

[Juno Beach]

More than likely all future trailers will have a lawyered up statement spoken at a million miles an hour like the drug commercials that "scenes shown are subject to change"

[Gatsby77]

On 12/26/2022 at 10:57 PM, Juno Beach said:

They show them pulling a gun on a cop, how did you think it was going to end?

Nah - it's more than that.

Aside from the fact that they don't go fishing, the trailer misrepresents the entire tone and genre of the film - a buddy road comedy it is not.

[jimbo_7071]

On 12/25/2022 at 12:33 AM, Cat said:

"I was too entertained, Your Honour. My phone didn't come out once." 

I haven't been to a movie in a theater since 2012. The last movie I saw in a theater was X-Men First Class. (Even though it came out in 2011, I saw it in the fall of 2012 at a dollar movie theater.) Now if there's a movie I want to see, I just wait for my local library to get the DVD.

The reason why I stopped going is because of the distraction of people's cell phone screens lighting up during the movie. If I ever go to a movie theater again, it will be for the express purpose of buying a large pop and "accidentally" dumping it on the first person near me whose cell phone screen lights up.

Edited December 27, 2022 by jimbo_7071

[Juno Beach]

On 12/27/2022 at 3:51 AM, Gatsby77 said:

Nah - it's more than that.

Aside from the fact that they don't go fishing, the trailer misrepresents the entire tone and genre of the film - a buddy road comedy it is not.

"Your honor...They never even fished! I want my money back!"

[Gatsby77]

On 12/27/2022 at 12:33 PM, Juno Beach said:

"Your honor...They never even fished! I want my money back!"

I doubt many people viewed that trailer and thought, "yeah - that flick'll nab half a dozen Oscar nominations."

[ThothAmon]

Wish they’d extend the statute of limitations so I could sue whoever made Highlander II. 

[Dr. Balls]

I plan on suing the studio for killing off Steven Seagal early in Executive Decision, as that was the height of his career, and everyone was clearly going to that movie to see him.

Suing for something this dumb is a cash grab for lawyers. Plantiff gets a $20 movie pass, Studios pay $10M to lawyers who proceed to hire hookers to do lines of coke off their navels while beating up homeless people outside the bar they are in. USA! USA! USA!