TWO movie fans in the US filed a federal class action lawsuit last Friday alleging they were duped into renting the 2019 film Yesterday because Ana de Armas appeared in the trailer.

The suit accuses Universal of engaging in deceptive marketing, and seeks to recoup at least US$5 million (RM20.9 milllion) on behalf of affected consumers.

“Because consumers were promised a movie with Ana De Armas by the trailer for Yesterday, but did not receive a movie with any appearance of Ana de Armas at all, such consumers were not provided with any value for their rental or purchase,” the lawsuit states.

Yesterday tells the story of a singer-songwriter who, through a supernatural occurrence, is the only person on Earth who remembers the Beatles. De Armas played the potential love interest of the main character, but her scenes were removed from the final cut of the film.

The suit bears a resemblance to a complaint involving the film Drive that was filed in Michigan in 2011. In that case, the plaintiff alleged that the trailer made it appear that the film would be a “high speed action driving film,” and she was not prepared for the film’s slow-paced interpersonal drama punctuated with graphic violence

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