①This spring, the most eye-catching movie might be YOLO (热辣滚烫). By Feb 26, it had made over 3.3 billion yuanat the box office, reported The Paper.
②Directed (执导) by 41-year-old Jia Ling, the movie tells about the story of a woman tired of the world, finding herself and learning to love life through boxing (拳击). The name YOLOis short for the movie's main idea—you only live once.
③Jia has tried many different roles in her life, including crosstalk and sketch performer, variety show guest and actress. It was in 2019 that she became a director for the first time, making her movie Hi, Mom.
④Jia didn't study directing at university. And she believes this is both a good and bad thing. It makes her feel freer in film making because she doesn't need to follow a fixed style (风格). To everyone's surprise, Hi, Mom made her the world's highest-grossing (票房最高的) woman director before 2023.
⑤Before making YOLO, Jia was often seen as an overweight comedian (戏剧演员). She often made jokes about herself to make people laugh. For this movie, Jia lost 50kg and looked very different. Some people online said even her voice became softer, and they call this a "rebirth" for Jia.
⑥In Jia's eyes, her change in identity (身份) and look is her way of staying true to herself. "It's hard to predict one's life. I'm just following my heart but not looking for changes on purpose (故意地). Movies are now the best way to show myself, so I put all my energy into them," Jia told Xinhua.
⑦"Jia didn't change at all. She's just being more herself," said talk show host Chen Luyu in her program A Date With Luyu .
a.YOLO made over 3.3 billion yuanat the box office.
b. Jia became a director for the first time.
c. Jia didn't study directing at university.
d. Jia lost 50kg and looked very different.
