Once, the glamorous, sexy and invincible "Laura" no longer exists, replaced by a "Laura" who can hurt and cry, but is fearless.
The success of the [Tomb Raider] series of movies can be said to depend on the success of the role of "Laura".
The new version of [Tomb Raider], not only "Lara" to be successful, but also successful enough to create a brand new "Lara" image in the hearts of the audience.
"Kanmei" Alicia Vikander did it.
[Tomb Raider: Origins] is adapted from "Tomb Raider 9" in the game series.
It tells the story of "Laura" embarking on an adventure to the ancient tomb in order to find the cause of the mysterious death of her father.
The point of the film is no longer to tell you how tough "Laura" is, how fast she can shoot, and how high her IQ is.
Instead, it shows the process of an ordinary little girl growing into a heroine.
Kanmei said that she had no intention of comparing herself with Julie, but just wanted everyone to see another interpretation of "Laura".
And, just as wonderful.
01
Laura
can be more than one
Kanmei said in an interview that she was a "Laura fan" since she was a child.
When I was 8 years old, I saw the "Tomb Raider" series of games for the first time from my friend's game console, and the first time I watched the [Tomb Raider] movie when I was 15 years old.
At that time, Kanmei realized that this "Laura" , wearing a sleeveless vest, tight shorts, braids, and holding two guns , was too handsome.
"That was probably the one time I saw a female action hero on the big screen, and I thought the character was groundbreaking."
It's no wonder that Kanmei's reaction was so strong. After all, before the [Tomb Raider] series put "Laura" on the throne of "Sister Tomb Digger" , ancient tombs, forests, ruins... have long been men's world.
For example, Dr. Indiana Jones, who ran around the world to thwart Nazi plots .
Going to Egypt to hunt for treasure results in O'Connor, the mummy cheating corpse .
And Ben Gates, who always has the idea of a presidential handbook .
And "Laura" not only does not lose to these men in strength and brainpower, she is much more beautiful.
"Laura Crawford" played by Angelina Jolie is not only highly similar in appearance to the game prototype , but also fully visualizes the sexy, charming and wild temperament of "Laura" in the game .
It can be said that Julie and [Tomb Raider] achieved each other.
Kanmei replaced Julie in "Laura", I don't believe it if there is no pressure at all.
In terms of appearance, Kanmei is too "Julie".
In terms of style, Kanmei also has an inherent light literary atmosphere.
It's obviously impossible to recreate Jolie's version of "Laura."
But fortunately, Kanmei didn't want to copy Julie, she wanted to create her own "Laura".
02
be a hero
Start with an ordinary girl
Remember when Zhou Xingchi found Huang Bo for [Journey to the West], Huang Bo asked me to play Monkey King in Zhou Xingchi's play? Quickly refuse.
Yes, such a deeply rooted role is often a hot potato for other actors, and if they are not careful, they have to carry the infamy of "destroying the previous work".
Kanmei is a "Laura fan" herself, and she knows this more clearly, so when she learned that she was cast as "Laura", she was somewhat cowardly.
After meeting with the director , the director directly asked Kan Mei to go home and play "Tomb Raider 9" , and then decide whether to participate in the show after playing .
In the process of playing, Kanmei found that the "Laura" in this version is very different from the previous version. "It highlights the human side of Laura, such as the origin story, the growth story of a young girl."
The director later confirmed this point of view, clapping his chest and telling Kan Mei, "I won't let you repeat what Julie did."
Kanmei said, "The reason I took on the film is that Laura here is not an action heroine, she is just a young girl who is trying to find a direction, a foothold and herself in life."
Compared with Julie's version of "Laura", who is powerful, charming, and a full-scale orange outfit, the new version of "Laura" is like just out of the novice village:
Got beat up at the start.
I have to make some money by delivering food.
The action scenes are also shifting towards the extreme sports of "touching and rolling".
After reading the script, Kanmei understood that this is a brand new "Laura", and what is needed is a brand new way of interpretation.
"Laura", who has lost her invincible halo, reveals the fragile side of human nature , which can further highlight her courageous and tenacious qualities.
03
be "Laura"
no shortcuts
It can be seen from the character image in the game that "Laura" has changed from a slender waist, long legs, and a big chest to a power-based beauty.
This is also the first hurdle for Kanmei to break through.
Kanmei spent 7 months doing devil-style physical fitness and shaping training.
The approximate process is like this: get up at four o'clock every day for aerobic training, supplement high-protein food every three hours, and the training content includes weightlifting, rings, dumbbells, yoga, balance exercises...
7 days a week.
After the training, Kanmei gained about 12 pounds (about 10.8 pounds) of muscle.
Walton Goggins , who plays "Methers Wacho" in the film , said, "I also go to the gym 5 times a week, and I'm embarrassed to take off my shirt in front of Kanmei."
Do you think this is over? A whole body of tendon is just the first step to becoming "Laura".
Next, master all the skills of "Laura".
In the game, "Laura" is almost omnipotent, shooting, boxing, mixed martial arts, archery, rock climbing...
Therefore, Kanmei also conducts endless daily training of "Eighteen martial arts".
"I have a certain foundation in dance, and I also like to constantly challenge myself in terms of physical function. I hope I can make the character's sense of strength look real and believable through exercise."
During the filming, almost every action scene was played in person, and more than 100 pieces of clothes were worn out.
Training this kind of thing is commonplace for her.
As we all know, Kan Mei used to be a ballet dancer. She practiced dance skills since she was a child, six days a week, seven hours a day, for nine years.
So, the training is good, but the cold can't stand it.
During filming, for almost eight weeks, Kanmei had to deal with cold water.
Either diving, being swept away, watered.
After being soaked in water for a long time, Kanmei's skin often freezes until it turns purple, and she can't correct the color correction in the later stage, so she can only re-shoot.
However, what is gratifying is that Kanmei's own "toughness" attribute is completely grafted on the new version of "Laura".
The dedicated Kanmei shaped "Laura" like a leopard ready to go.
Once, the glamorous, sexy and invincible "Laura" no longer exists, replaced by a "Laura" who can hurt and cry, but is fearless.
It's great to see that there can be more than one "Laura".
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Text: Han Gege
The article comes from WeChat public account: Movie Detoxification
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