At the Beijing premiere of the movie "Hot and Spicy", Jia Ling, who had lost 100 pounds after more than a year, made her first offline appearance in front of the public, and was moved to tears.
As of 13:17 on February 14, the box office of the movie "Hot" directed and starring Jia Ling exceeded 1.7 billion, firmly occupying the top spot at the Spring Festival box office.
Coupled with the 5.396 billion yuan box office of the movie "Hello, Li Huanying" directed in 2021, Jia Ling has won the position of the highest-grossing female director in China, and is also the second-highest independent female director in the world in terms of box office. The first one is Greta Gerwig, who earned $1.4 billion at the box office with the movie "Barbie."
The gratifying results of "Hot and Spicy" not only made 42-year-old Jia Ling popular, but also 38-year-old Zhang Xiaofei, helping her personal movie box office exceed 8 billion.
Seeing Zhang Xiaofei’s career rising higher and higher, I suddenly thought of Jia Ling’s old partner Bai Kainan. The two met each other because of cross talk, but after that, they met each other because of cross talk. Looking back today, the situation is completely different.
[1] The early experiences of the three people
In 1997, 16-year-old Bai Kainan graduated from the dance class of the Central Song and Dance Ensemble. And 11-year-old Zhang Xiaofei is studying dance in the dance department of the Central China National University of China.
In order to realize his dream of dancing, Bai Kainan formed a singing and dancing group with several friends and performed in various venues. He worked very hard on the stage, and every performance was carefully choreographed, but the audience didn't buy it when they saw his face. After several twists and turns, the group was forced to disband.
The days of flying solo were not easy either. Bai Kainan, who entered society early, had to give up dancing in order to support himself and entered a performing arts bar, amusing the audience with comprehensive performances such as hosting and imitation.
But there are still viewers looking for trouble. Sometimes while he was acting, a piece of watermelon rind hit him in the face. Before I could wipe off the juice, another piece flew over. At this time, he caught it, "Brother, are you giving me a fruit plate for my performance?"
After a few years of hosting, Bai Kainan, who longed for a big stage, was successfully admitted to the Chinese Opera Performance Class and studied under Feng Gong.
In 2003, 21-year-old Jia Ling graduated from the Chinese Opera Crosstalk College Class. With the title of champion of the "National Crosstalk Sketch Invitational Competition", she was ready to make a big splash in the crosstalk world. But this road is really difficult.
One is the decline of the market. At that time, the cross talk industry was in decline, and the older generation of cross talk celebrities could only rely on subsidies within the system to survive.
The second is the disadvantage of gender. It’s not that women can’t do cross talk, it’s just that they’re not suitable. Male actors can pretend to be stupid and stupid, but when it comes to actresses, it's hard to control the scale of performance.
Jia Ling, who couldn't get any work, relied on her sister Jia Dan to support her monthly living expenses. On the other hand, she went to work on the set and did odd jobs. But even if she rented in the basement and ate instant noodles, she often couldn't make ends meet, and sometimes she even couldn't make ends meet. I can't even afford the 400 yuan/month rent.
Sister found Jia Ling a job with a monthly salary of 3,000 in her hometown. But Jia Ling didn't want to go home, and she couldn't understand her sister. My sister had no choice but to ask Feng Gong to help her deal with the situation. When Feng Gong heard this, he understood Jia Ling's difficulties, "Hey, I didn't know you were living so hard. I'll take you to earn a year's rent first."
After that, Feng Gong took Jia Ling around to perform, including cross talk and sketches. He acted in everything, and ended up helping Jia Ling earn ten years of rent.
In 2005, Jia Ling was admitted to the China Broadcasting Art Troupe and officially became Feng Gong's teacher. Also in this year, Zhang Xiaofei transferred from the Chinese Armed Police Art Troupe and entered the Beijing Film Academy with a dance. He became classmates and roommates with Yang Mi, Yuan Shanshan, and Jiao Junyan.
Because he had served in the military, Zhang Xiaofei starred in the movie "War Years" in his second year of school and officially started his acting career. The first work is the heroine, which is a rare opportunity. But the disadvantages are also obvious. This image was set too early. At that time, "costume Mary Sue dramas" were on the rise. Since then, Zhang Xiaofei, who has been involved in war dramas, period dramas, and rural themes, naturally found it difficult to get ahead.
[2] Jia Ling and Bai Kainan’s reunion
In 2006, Jia Ling and Bai Kainan met.Because of their love for cross talk, the two hit it off and decided to perform together. Neither of them were well-known. In order to take over the job, they thought of many ways, and even used their relationship as Feng Gong's disciples. "When people hear that they are Feng Gong's students, they will always give them a bit of mercy."
Life is very hard. , but they are persisting. Just a year ago, Shen Teng and Ma Li, who were also the "golden partners" in the comedy industry, also met. 26-year-old Shen Teng was watching a performance in a small theater and immediately fell in love with 23-year-old Ma Li on the stage and invited her to join "Happy Twist".
In 2008, a crosstalk author named Zou Seng handed the book "Love and Hard Work Will You Win" into the hands of Jia Ling and Bai Kainan. Who is Master Zou? Feng Gong's royal screenwriter.
With the work "Love to Fight Will You Win", Bai Kainan and Jia Ling participated in the 4th Crosstalk Competition and won the third prize in the professional group. Winning this award not only gave the two great encouragement, but also made Zou Seng full of confidence in their cooperation.
So, he modified an old cross talk book "Dahua Peng Dou" and added fashionable elements such as "Dae Jang Geum" which was popular at the time, so that Jia Ling and Bai Kainan tried it in the theater, and the result was a big hit. Welcome, it has performed more than 80 times in various small theaters in Beijing. In such an environment, "cool crosstalk" came into being.
In 2010, under the strong recommendation of Jiang Kun and Feng Gong, Bai Kainan and Jia Ling successfully appeared on the CCTV Spring Festival Gala and performed the cross talk "Big Talk". Immediately afterwards, the two struck while the iron was hot and performed the crosstalk "Love to Fight Will Win" at the CCTV Lantern Festival Gala. The following year, Jia Ling and Bai Kainan appeared on the CCTV Spring Festival Gala again and performed the crosstalk "Open Sesame".
appeared on the Spring Festival Gala for two consecutive years. Bai Kainan and Jia Ling became famous, and then resources came one after another. They rushed to different TV stations non-stop, and their existing cross talk works were recorded over and over again.
The stage of the Spring Festival Gala witnessed what it means to be an "instant hit". For Bai Kainan, who became a monk and learned cross talk halfway, this "famous" came too quickly and too easily. Compared with Jia Ling, he is more popular, especially the "brows". When the camera comes, he frowns and makes an "awful" expression, which can trigger a roar of laughter.
But as the program was recorded more, Jia Ling became more anxious. She found that she was very empty. She had just become famous, but her career seemed to be touching the ceiling. The works created by
in the past were limited. After dozens of performances, there were no more cross talk jokes to perform. In Jia Ling's words, she tried her best to shake off a burden, but before Bai Kainan could do it, she immediately made a funny "囧" expression.
Jia Ling, who realized this problem, studied in seclusion for a year. She also took this time to re-examine whether she was suitable to continue working in the cross talk industry.
This year, the name "Zhang Xiaofei" began to appear on Jia Ling's Weibo. He will happily support her for winning the third female lead, and also fight for her injustice, "Young actor, your life is really cheap, quickly become a big shot! You are only one drama away from becoming my idol."
Jia When Ling said these words, she never thought that Zhang Xiaofei's dream of becoming a "big shot" would be made possible by her.
It was also in this year that Jia Ling, after much thought, proposed breaking up with Bai Kainan, "Brother, why don't I find someone else to try it, and you can find someone else to try it too."
She began to shift the focus of her work from cross talk to Moved towards sketches and broader comedy performances. The first stop to test the waters is "Variety Show".
In order to break through the development bottleneck of female crosstalk actors, Jia Ling put down her figure and laughed, imitating female stars such as Auntie Xue, Qian Songyi, and Monroe, and also played male stars such as Huo Feng, Liu Huan, and Zhou Xiaoou, with "weird" looks. No scruples.
Just when Jia Ling was transforming, Zhang Xiaofei's dream of becoming an actor seemed to be stuck in a quagmire and he was unable to extricate himself. At this time, Yang Mi was famous all over the country with her works such as "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", "Legend of Sword and Fairy III", and "Palace Locked Heart", and was promoted to the new "Four Little Actresses" in the Mainland along with Huang Shengyi, Wang Luodan, and Liu Yifei.
She also gave a share of this "red" to her roommates. However, this roommate is not Zhang Xiaofei, but Yuan Shanshan. Due to scheduling reasons, Yang Mi gave up acting in "Palace Lock Bead Curtain". Although Yuan Shanshan, who took over the role, was scolded a lot, she is still popular and has her own place in the entertainment industry.
Jiao Junyan is not bad either. She has worked with not only senior actors such as Chen Chong, Feng Yuanzheng, and Chen Baoguo, but also well-known directors such as Chen Mingzhang, Zheng Xiaolong, and He Qun. More importantly, she will soon have her masterpiece "Meeting Wang Lichuan".
Compared with roommates such as Yang Mi, Yuan Shanshan, Jiao Junyan, etc., Zhang Xiaofei is only anxious. During one audition, the producer slapped her in person, "Do you think there's something wrong with your face?"
Just when Zhang Xiaofei was beaten to pieces by life, Jia Ling extended an olive branch to her. At Beijing Satellite TV's Spring Festival Gala that year, the sketch "Women, nth power" became the beginning of Jia Ling and Zhang Xiaofei's dream.
On the other side, taking advantage of the Spring Festival Gala, Bai Kainan also appeared on the stage of "The Variety Show 2". In the show, Bai Kainan combined his own funny style with the objects he imitated. Dick Cowboy, Ji Lianhai, Zhang Yu and many other characters were sometimes serious and sometimes spoof, making the audience laugh.
In 2013, Bai Kainan, Jia Ling, Da Zhangwei, Qu Ying, and Shen Ling formed the "Five Heroes", which was instantly popular. But the heat came and went quickly, and only a year later we encountered a cold wave. The collaboration between Jia Ling and Bai Kainan stayed on the stage of "The Big Show" in 2014. The show's suspension also became a watershed in the careers of Bai Kainan and Jia Ling. The development trajectory of the two people ranges from intertwining to separation.
[3] Zhang Xiaofei who is willing to be a green leaf
From 2012 to 2014, Jia Ling had five consecutive seasons of "The Variety Show". While earning enough popularity, Jia Ling also found a development direction for herself in comedy, mainly sketches. , supplemented by variety shows.
In 2015, Jia Ling returned to the Spring Festival Gala stage with her work "The Goddess and the Female Man", completing her transformation from a crosstalk actor to a sketch actor.
From this point on, Zhang Xiaofei’s career officially began. Under the leadership of Feng Gong, he made his first appearance in the Spring Festival Gala and participated in the sketch "Little Cotton Jacket", and began to accumulate some fame in a small area.
After the Spring Festival Gala, in order to challenge herself, Jia Ling participated in the recording of "Happy Comedian". The difficulty also came. Because there was no subsidy money, Jia Ling was unable to find an experienced assistant.
At this time, Zhang Xiaofei stood beside Jia Ling. There are 12 competitions, one work per week. Jia Ling and Zhang Xiaofei's life pattern has been repeated: five days to write the script and rehearse, two days to rehearse and record.
At the same time, Bai Kainan started playing cross-border. She is very busy as a host, guest speaker, and speaker in programs such as "Hot Mom Academy", "The Time Show", and "I Go to School".
Bai Kainan, who made a lot of money, unknowingly deviated from the main business of comedy. At that time, what was before him was not time, but large sums of money. The money earned from a cross talk show is less than a fraction of that from a commercial performance. What's more, it takes time to polish the script when it comes to jokes.
In 2016, Jia Ling, screenwriter Sun Jibin, and host Li Kun jointly opened a company called "Big Bowl Entertainment". The first artist signed was Zhang Xiaofei.
The big name in 2012, the big entertainment in 2016. Jia Ling also bluntly said this: You will become famous soon. If you don't sign, you will lose a lot of money.
does. In those years, Jia Ling worked hard on Zhang Xiaofei. "Spring of the Comedy Class 1-2", "Happy Comedians 1-3", "Comedy Story 1-2" and "Happy Drama Club", Jia Ling has been on all the comedy programs she can get on, and she has never let Zhang Xiaofei Cut off exposure. Wherever there is Jia Ling, there is Zhang Xiaofei.
In the same year, Jia Ling participated in "Comedy Story" with artists from Dawan Entertainment. The first work she created was "Hello, Li Huanying" adapted from her personal experience.
“I want more people to know that I have a wonderful mother, Li Huanying."This sketch was so tearful that the audience was willing to watch it thousands of times, but they were not willing to let Jia Ling perform it a second time.
Where is Bai Kainan? He has participated in "My Dad is Four Years Younger than Me", "The End" and "Operation Mocha" one after another. Waiting for movies, but all of them are on the street.
Jia Ling's popularity made Bai Kainan aware of his crisis. With the labels of "Feng Gong's beloved disciple" and "Spring Festival Gala comedian", he appeared as a contestant in "Happy Comedian" 2". But in reality, Bai Kainan was slapped hard and was directly "one round".
In 2020, Bai Kainan, who failed in "Happy Comedian 2", chose to make a comeback in the sixth season. I I thought that after more than three years of accumulation, Bai Kainan would bring different works, but Miracle did not reward him.
"Jiao'er" can score high, I think it is more of applying the feelings of "Peking Opera". Singing The performance is out of tune; there is no Peking Opera style in appearance; the monkey opera with sticks is average, and the laughter of the Monkey King is also harsh.
Bai Kainan's performance is full of a kind of "excessive force", with a lot of pretending to be crazy and acting stupid. This kind of performance is The successful promotion made the opponent Zhang Hao very dissatisfied.
But what is even more embarrassing is that it is the next work "Variety Show". The plot is absurd, the whole process is bloody, it is a farce. What surprised me the most was the smearing The scene of putting on shampoo and pouring bottled water on the head.
Painted his face all white and his mouth bright red. Bai Kainan dressed up as a clown, looking very tragic, and then he ran to a corner of the stage, He bowed deeply to the statuette.
This "original intention" and stubborn sadness Feeling sad, Bai Kainan didn't know that the environment had changed and the audience's tastes had also changed. But at that time, all he could think about was "I can't figure it out, how could I lose?" "
Surprisingly, Bai Kainan also fell into the "plagiarism scandal". Part of the content of "Variety Show" has a high degree of overlap with Zhang Boyang's jokes. This time, Bai Kainan not only lost his work, but also his character.
2021 In 2017, Bai Kainan returned to "The Big Show 6" and stood together with Jia Ling again. However, in the eyes of most viewers, the status and level of the two are no longer "equal."
It is true that Bai Kainan is After the initial hardships, Bai Kainan fell into the reality of wealth and fame, only focusing on the immediate fame and fortune, ignoring the long-term plan.
After more than ten years of going around in circles, Bai Kainan is still treading water. And Jia Ling, step by step, She has made a name for herself. From a female crosstalk actress on the Spring Festival Gala stage to a leader among comedians. Starting a company, becoming a boss, making movies, and supporting newcomers.
Let’s look at Zhang Xiaofei again. Before she became the “Fei Mom” with a box office of 5.3 billion , the label that impressed me most about Zhang Xiaofei was, "white skin, beautiful appearance, long legs, blind date madman Zhang Xiaofei", which corresponds to the label of Xu Juncong, who was also an artist under Dawan Entertainment during that time, "yellow rubber shoes, cropped trousers, professional mage" "Bang Haizhu".
Now, Zhang Xiaofei has gone from an 18-tier actor to an 8 billion heroine. The story of "no one knows about her 12-year career, but she became famous all over the world". This counterattack cool article has made many netizens Kowtow to the top.
Zhang Xiaofei has thanked Jia Ling in public more than once, "I met a fat girl who came to me to do a sketch. Her name is Jia Ling. I am really grateful to her. She is my A noble person in life. "
Jia Ling is indeed worthy of Zhang Xiaofei's "noble person". 9 years ago, Jia Ling prayed that Zhang Xiaofei would become a big star soon; 9 years later, Jia Ling asked Zhang Xiaofei to be her most cherished heroine "Li Huanying". All the light shines on her. In the fame and fortune fair of the entertainment industry, they have never left each other behind, which is extremely valuable.
Why didn't Jia Ling support Bai Kainan, but chose to support Zhang Xiaofei? Perhaps we can get a glimpse of it from an interview with Shen Teng, "It's not that Ma Li and I can't get along, I think we can only choose one, either a partner on the screen or a partner in life."
This is the reason , it is equally suitable for Jia Ling and Bai Kainan. Since the two of them have chosen different paths, let's not force it together.
