Writer and director J. Ollie Lucks, of Dunedin, has begun filming his documentary The King in the Ring.
The documentary continues on from the short film Wilbur Force he made last year.
The film traced Wilbur McDougall's return to the wrestling ring and was viewed more than 260,000 times online.
The film also screened on Air New Zealand's in-flight entertainment.
The new documentary will track McDougall's attempt to drop from 171kg to about 100kg by exercise, diet and the gastric banding surgery at Southland Hospital next month. McDougall said his current weight was 153kg.
"I've lost 18kg ... I have a protein shake in the morning, a couple of eggs for lunch and two cups of veges at night.''
The documentary would include "diary cams'' by the dieting wrestler and recreations of key events in his life.
The documentary would be filmed across Otago and Southland but mostly in Dunedin.
Lucks said the documentary filming began at a wrestling match in Invercargill last year, where McDougall wore a crown and wrestled under the persona "The King''.
"People ate it up. He has so much charisma and such a good stage presence ... He takes great pleasure in insulting young boys but they insult him back,'' Lucks said. McDougall recalled being heckled by an 8-year-old boy, who told him to "shut up burger king''.
"I was stumped. It was the most simple and brilliant insult I've heard from a child,'' McDougall said.
He wondered if the "bad guy'' persona could continue after losing more weight, or if a change in image would be needed.
Wilbur Force was funded by New Zealand on Air, the New Zealand Film Commission, Dunedin City Council and donations from the public.
For the documentary, $7000 needed to be raised to film McDougall before, during and after his surgery next month.
The fundraising website page to raise the $7000 needed closes tomorrow.
