On April 16, the behind-the-scenes documentary of "Hot and Hot" was launched, nearly 2 months later than the original launch date.
The behind-the-scenes documentary is divided into three episodes, with the first episode "Adventure" being launched first. Although it has been more than a month since I watched the movie, when the documentary started to play and I recalled the scenes in the movie, the first minute of the documentary made me burst into tears.
The first episode of "Adventure" focuses on the pre-preparation and first stage of filming of the film, but in reverse order, the first scene of the documentary is the completion of the movie, and Jia Ling finished filming the last ring scene. The staff on one side shouted "The game is over", and the other side shouted "It's served", this day is November 2023, Jia Ling walked around the ring excitedly and easily, and the staff in the audience said, "It's finished, the director eats a cake!" At this time, Jia Ling laughed and cried and wiped her tears, and the people in the audience also wiped their tears.
Jia Ling said on stage that on the day of the finale, she witnessed a car accident on the way here, and she sighed that the road to the finale was really too difficult for her. "There are so many ways to make movies, I chose the stupidest one, and there are so many ways to finish the movie, and I took the most difficult one. This expression of true feelings is really distressing, and the tears can no longer be held back.
After this heavyweight "tear gas" exploded, the documentary officially began, and in summary, Jia Ling wanted to express three key points in this episode of the documentary.
The first is the psychological pressure of filming "Hot and Hot".
Many people think that the shooting level of "Hot and Hot" is not so superb and the quality of the film is not so good, it is true that limited by the director's level, Jia Ling really can't be compared with Zhang Yimou, but her creative pressure and shooting difficulty are obvious.
The documentary first pulled the time back to the 2022 Hundred Flowers Award for Popular Films, when "Hello, Li Huanying" not only won 5.413 billion at the box office, but also received six nominations, and Jia Ling gained fame and fortune.
This video material, which seems to have nothing to do with "Hot and Hot", is intended to hint to the audience that Jia Ling is facing huge psychological pressure. Jia Ling has a vigorous desire to create, a mature script, good ideas and ideas, but the success of "Hello, Li Huanying" was already a huge burden and drag when she was preparing to shoot "Hot and Hot", what should I do if the box office is not as good as my predecessor? What should I do if the investor loses money? What should I do if I disappoint the audience?
The starting point of "Hello, Li Huanying" is too high, this one is filming mothers, which has a huge emotional impact, but "Hot and Hot" is filming himself, plus his almost solidified image of a comedian, it is too difficult to move the audience. Jia Ling knows in her heart that "Hot and Hot" is not an action movie, not a special effects film, if you want to conquer the audience, what else can you rely on without resonance and moving? Think about it from another perspective, if you were in Jia Ling's position at that time, how much psychological pressure would you bear?
Therefore, a lot of details are given at the back of the documentary, including Jia Ling's repeated scrutiny of the script, meticulous craftsmanship of details, and doubts about herself, etc., standing on the starting line of creation, Jia Ling is facing greater pressure than other directors.
The second is the physiological stress during the filming process
Like in the movie, Jia Ling didn't involve her physical condition too much, but she could still see some clues.
The physiological challenge faced by Jia Ling during the filming of "Hot and Hot" is not to lose 100 pounds, but to gain more than ten pounds first and then lose 100 pounds, which are two hurdles.
The documentary depicts this process in detail, in order to gain weight in the early stage and accurately show the decadent state of the character's home for ten years, Jia Ling overeats every day, eats meat, carbs, and various high-calorie sauces...... In a short period of time, he gained more than ten pounds and weighed more than 200 pounds.
Gaining weight on the surface seems to be easier than losing weight, but Jia Ling sacrifices her emotions and health, she once had a lot of things she wanted to express but felt powerless, the original weight of about 190 pounds was almost the critical point of her health, and when the weight exceeded 200 pounds, although Jia Ling said it more tactfully, but she was likely to have diabetes.
What she says in the documentary is that "blood sugar is starting to stabilize". Blood sugar is not blood pressure, occasionally high will go down, once the blood sugar is high to a certain extent, you can be diagnosed with diabetes, and Jia Ling, who has gained more than 200 pounds, has a very, very high risk of diabetes, and diabetes is an incurable disease, if diagnosed, you will have to control your diet, take medicine, and even inject insulin for a lifetime, and there will be a risk of complications, diabetic foot, fundus lesions, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular problems...... The sacrifice she made was really too great.
The evidence that Jia Ling is likely to have diabetes is that she said in the documentary that although she ate a lot, her weight dropped and she looked thinner, you must know that she had not yet reached the weight loss stage, she just couldn't eat enough to gain weight, and a typical symptom of diabetes is that her weight will drop when her blood sugar rises.
After the first stage of filming, as we all know, Jia Ling lost 100 pounds in a very short time through strict training and diet control, which is actually very harmful to the body. Therefore, the success of "Hot and Hot" is what she deserves.
Third, there is the pressure of work in the creative process
Filming is essentially the same as any other job, writing a script, drawing a good storyboard, and preparing the staff of various departments, and from the day the film starts, there will be a producer who will hold a notice every day to supervise the filming progress, and the director is more like a co-ordinator, ensuring that the film is shot on time and with quality, coordinating the collaboration between various departments, and dealing with various problems.
How tired is the director? I can't feel it when I say it, the documentary is piled up with various details, so that the audience can deeply feel the pressure of the director's work, and there are 100 things waiting to be dealt with every day when they arrive on the set. Communicating with the art scene, down to a staircase, a light, communicating with the costumes, the outfit when Le Ying appeared on the stage, behind the screening of dozens of sets of clothes, to tell the actors, to stop the actors' complaints, but also to solve the crew's daily emergencies.
Moreover, Jia Ling is more difficult than other directors, because she is still the leading actor, and she has to take away at least half of her energy to act, this kind of pressure is really not something ordinary people can bear.
After watching the documentary "Hot and Hot", on the one hand, I hate the negative public opinion like a flood since the release of the movie, how can you bear it in the face of such a sincere, hard-working, and female director who wants to present good works to the audience? On the other hand, I regret that the documentary was launched too late, if you meet the audience when the movie is released, it will definitely help everyone better understand the movie and Jia Ling's dedication.
Of course, "Hot and Hot" is just the beginning of Jia Ling, and it is the second step she has taken on the road of directing, I believe that through the experience of the two films, Jia Ling will become more and more mature and stronger, and her later works will get better and better. Come on!