No matter how you felt about Disney‘s live-action “Aladdin” remake, you probably walked away impressed by the film’s young stars. Mena Massoud has all the charisma you could want from everyone’s favorite lamp-stealing orphan, and Naomi Scott shines as Princess Jasmine. Even Billy Magnussen, a comedy regular in a small role, finds time to shine in the movie. Surely these actors would go on to do great things with their careers.
READ MORE: “Aladdin” Offers a Bit More Than Your Standard Disney Remake
Entertainment journalism, it seems, is not without a dark sense of humor. On December 3, The Daily Beast published a profile of Massoud where the actor admitted he hasn’t landed an audition since the release of the film. Despite the financial success of the film – success owed at least in part to Massoud’s blindingly charming performance as the title character – Massoud was still on the outside of Hollywood looking in. Then, a few days later, on December 6, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Magnussen would reprise his “Aladdin” role as part of a new Disney+ spinoff. It wasn’t long before people started openly commenting on the double standards of Hollywood.
Mena Massoud: "I starred in the live-action version of ALADDIN, which made over a billion dollars at the box-office, and I can't even get callbacks for auditions. Do you have any idea how frustrating that is?"
Disney: https://t.co/tFoXAO8MQC
— hellresidentNY (@hellresidentNY) December 6, 2019
— Angie J. Han (@ajhan) December 6, 2019
Absolutely no offense to Billy Magnussen — I'm always here for him playing a white guy of any kind — but this is some timing after that Mena Massoud interview. https://t.co/8vcWM3Hf13
— LaToya Ferguson (@lafergs) December 6, 2019
In the original article, interviewer Kevin Fallon pointed out that Massoud is not “whining or complaining or is in any way ungrateful” when he discussed his lack of opportunities post-“Aladdin.” From Fallon’s perspective, Massoud is merely drawing attention to the other side of the industry: your movie can make a billion dollars at the global box office, but for a myriad of reasons – some probably valid, some almost certainly less so – that may not be enough to get you on the right call sheets. Even this, though, represents a tightrope walk for the actor. Push too hard, and decision-makers will decide that you are too much trouble for the project; there are probably casting directors who, based on these headlines alone, have determined that Massoud is too entitled for future consideration.
READ MORE: “Aladdin” Sequel Is in the Early Stages of Development
But how does that compare, then, to Magnussen? According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actor not only expressed interest in a Prince Anders television series, but he also brought a story idea to the producers and sat in on the writing process. None of this is suggesting that Magnussen was in the wrong for creating his opportunity, or that the two actors should be pitted against each other in terms of success. Still, it’s hard not to take note of a system that will create an entire spinoff series off a minor character before auditioning the film’s lead for even a C-level franchise adaptation. For a company that demonstrates an almost pathological need to defend The Brand (TM), Disney sometimes sure does suck at even the most basic tenants of public relations. Failing grades for everyone with this one – except Massoud and Magnussen, of course.