A judge has agreed to let a lawsuit filed by Ana de Armas fans proceed to trial in a blow to the fix-it-in-post methodology too many movie studios use these days to attempt to test movies into being four-quadrant hits.
Yesterdayis today if the recent case that crossed the desk of Judge Stephen Wilson is anything to go by. The case involved plaintiffs arguing against the claim of false advertising presented by the trailer for the Danny Boyle movieYesterday, which purported tostar de Armas.
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The lawsuit was brought by filmgoers upset that the trailer for the movieYesterdayshowed de Armas - the up-and-comer who’s gone from Rian Johnson’sKnives Outto superstardomcomplete with her ownJohn Wickspinoff,Ballerina -was in the film only to find that she’d been cut out by the time the movie hit theaters. As movie studios have gone into risk-averse production models, blockbusters are made by testing that allows audiences to see the film and then give feedback, which occurs over and over and over alongside reshoots to match the latest responses. So, some material initially in the script may be different by the time it hits the screen. And that’s the type of thing the lawsuit Judge Wilson allowed to proceed will curb.
Studios will pretend this is not a “sky is falling” scenario when it’s anything but. It’s going to force productions to start with solid script choices rather than doing as they do now, which is almost like playing a game of blind man’s bluff, that is to say, feeling their way around in the dark until they touch on something good. This would make them a little more careful about the slop that gets through the production line so that they don’t tell audiences that their beloved famous star is in the movie only to find out that sixmonths of reshoots and recuttingin post means the person they bought tickets for ended up going the way of the dodo.
It’s no secret that movie studios and production companies are in the business of making money. The fabled four-quadrant hit (something that lands with men and women and the young and the elderly in equal measure) is the goal every time out the gate because it means huge moolah in the bank with all those eyes on the screen and tickets sold. That said, it’s far harder to do than anyone thinks, and this lawsuit, if the plaintiffs win—so far all that’s happened is a judge agreed the suit had enough merit to withstand Universal’s attempts at dismissal—would see a shift in the way films are made and marketed. And it’s not going to hurt audiences in the least. It won’t mean that all movies going forward will be quality, but just making it up as they go along instead of starting with a more solid plan will be a thing studios didYesterday, not today.
