Writing a story about a mainstream celebrity is a daunting task. They are often unavailable, unapproachable, and unresponsive. And I can’t blame them. They don’t need traditional media, not when they have their own digital platforms.

They especially don’t need traditional media that is only interested in doing one story with no follow-ups that do not promote their latest production. And that is fair. A celebrity’s currency is their popularity. If they can do a better job of promoting, why would they need the paper.

The fault is clearly in the way old media tries to hold on to the old ways in a new world while expecting things to remain the same.

All this is to say that I’m grateful that Riena Diana actually answered my texts and in the end answered some of my questions. The resulting story is one-part her answers, one-part summary of the show she is in, and one-part summary from her previous interviews. The pictures were taken for her digital platforms.

It took me a couple of weeks of requesting an interview, giving her ideas on how to make it easier on her, and reminding her. She agreed to an interview, but she was also busy shooting Kampung People 2 at the same time. The result is whatever the best I could do to fill up an enforced quota. And that doesn’t feel good.