.png)
I have a confession. I have a soft spot for Riz Ahmed.
Not just because he is a brilliant actor, but because he represents the kind of talent I love watching — someone who completely disappears into his characters.
From The Reluctant Fundamentalist to The Night Of, Riz Ahmed has proven himself to be one of the finest actors of his generation.
So when I heard Riz Ahmed was in Penang to film Netflix’s The Big Fix, I was excited.
Then Mark Wahlberg arrived. And suddenly, nobody cared about Riz.
Imagine being a multiple award-winning actor, flying all the way to Penang to shoot a Netflix movie… only to be overshadowed by a Perodua Kelisa.
Yes. Mark Wahlberg got into a Kelisa and suddenly it became front-page news. Everyone lost their minds.
"Mark Wahlberg naik Perodua woiiii!"
A Hollywood star sitting in our tiny national treasure on wheels became the event of the week.
If the Kelisa owner happens to be a Grab driver, he has probably already prepared his conversation with his future passengers.
"Eh, you know who sat in this car? Mark Wahlberg! Please give Mark’s Kelisa five stars and a good tip!"
Honestly, I understand the excitement.
There is something charming about seeing a global superstar moving around Penang in an ordinary Malaysian car. It feels humble. It feels relatable.
But it also reveals something very Malaysian about us.
We love the famous.
The bigger the name, the bigger the excitement.
Put a Hollywood celebrity in a Kelisa and the whole country stops.
Of course, being in Penang means the biggest question is not just: "Where are they filming?"
The real Malaysian question is as following:
"Did the Hollywood stars try nasi kandar?"
Did they discover char koay teow?
Did they survive pasembur?
Did someone introduce them to prawn mee, assam laksa or cendol?
Because in Penang, you haven't really visited until food becomes part of the story.
Forget the red carpet - we want the food trail.
Imagine the headlines:
"Hollywood star spotted eating nasi kandar."
"Mark Wahlberg asks for extra kuah campur."
"Riz Ahmed impressed by Penang hawker food."
Now that would truly break the internet.
Then came another entertaining chapter: Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil dropped by the film set. FINAS chairman Hans Isaac tumpang sekaki too.
Nothing wrong with that.
An international production filming in Malaysia is good news for our industry. It brings jobs, exposure and opportunities for our creative sector. The presence of a major Netflix production is definitely something worth celebrating.
But the Malaysian in me cannot help asking - do our ministers and FINAS chairman visit every international production that shoots here?
Or only the ones starring celebrities famous enough for our aunties to recognise?
If tomorrow an award-winning Iranian director came to film in Malaysia, would anyone notice?
If an acclaimed Japanese filmmaker was shooting in Ipoh, would there be an official visit?
Or does the excitement increase in direct proportion to the number of Hollywood blockbusters you've appeared in?
Because if our leaders are there to support the film industry, wonderful.
But if Mark Wahlberg is the reason for the special appearance - well, congratulations. Good to know that our leaders are just like the rest of us: a little bit starstruck.
And perhaps a little bit kiasu too.
And honestly, that's the most Malaysian part of the whole story.
Not that Mark Wahlberg rode in a Kelisa.
But that one Hollywood celebrity was enough to make an entire nation - including some of its leaders - want to see what all the fuss was about.
Now, if only we could show the same level of kiasuness towards the everyday issues ordinary Malaysians deal with, I bet there would not be a single pothole left on our Malaysian roads.
Fa Abdul (fa.abdul.penang@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact creator@newswav.com.
