Ana de Armas fans sue studio after she is dropped from movie Yesterday despite appearing in trailer
LOS ANGELES – Fans of Cuban-Spanish actress Ana de Armas have pointed out on social media that she did not appear in the musical rom-com Yesterday (2019), even though she appeared briefly in the movie trailer.
Now, two fans of the Blonde (2022) actress have been allowed to proceed with a lawsuit they filed in January, in which they accused Universal, which distributed the film, of deceptive marketing.
In a written ruling released on Tuesday, United States District Judge Stephen Wilson allowed part of the lawsuit to proceed, writing that “at its core, a trailer is an advertisement designed to sell a movie by providing consumers with a preview of the movie”.
Yesterday tells the story of Jack, a failed musician played by British actor Himesh Patel. He hits his head during a blackout and wakes up to find that the world is unaware of rock legends The Beatles. He goes on to adopt the band’s songs as his own and becomes famous.
In the trailer, Jack is seen gazing at de Armas’ character on a talk show, and she embraces him at the end of his song. The film’s female lead Ellie, played by British actress Lily James, looks upset after seeing the clip.
The plaintiffs Conor Woulfe and Peter Michael Rosza rented Yesterday off Amazon.com’s online streaming service for US$3.99 (S$5.40) after watching the trailer.
However, de Armas did not appear in the movie.
Screenwriter Richard Curtis explained in an interview with entertainment website CinemaBlend why de Armas’ character was dropped. “I think the audience likes the story (about Ellie and Jack) and goes with that, and it works out well,” he said. “And I think the audience did not like the fact that his eyes even strayed.”
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