This director lacks vision.

Chapter 406: Pre-sales reach 3.6 billion!
While it can be satisfying to show off, if you go too far, you'll inevitably encounter some trolls who will question you.

After the interviews with the film's creators, the audience interaction session began.

A male audience member took the microphone and asked, "Director Jiang, Professor Cui Tiejun just praised you as someone who could be a science and engineering professor, but I saw quite a few mistakes in the Pacific Rim movie."

The first is the "Dragon Trapping Lock" scheme, which uses a space-based orbital energy station to absorb solar energy and then transmits it to a sea-surface platform.

This is clearly not in line with reality.

It's true that solar energy absorbed from space is stronger, but it suffers energy attenuation when transmitted to the ground. So what's the essential difference between absorbing solar energy from space and absorbing it from the ground?

Besides, is it really feasible to transmit energy using lasers?

Is this just a wild guess?

The second question is about the portrayal of China in the film.

In your film, the entire process from the proposal to the implementation of the Dragon-Trapping Lock solution was led by China, including the production and manufacturing of various equipment.

Does our country have such great strength?
Based on the current balance of power among nations, I believe it is more realistic for the United States to take the lead.

Is this due to your own personal bias, resulting in an unnecessary inclusion of a particular bias in the film?

This audience member asked a pretty tricky question.

After he finished asking the question, whispers and discussions broke out in the room.

Liu Jicun and Song Zuer were both sweating bullets. They felt that these two questions were very tricky. If they were to answer them, they would definitely stammer and not know what to say. They couldn't help but worry about their boss.

Wu Yusen's mouth was crooked with a grin; he really wanted to see Jiang Yifeng make a fool of himself.

But then Jiang Yifeng said, "Thank you for the question."

First, I want to clarify a concept with you: science fiction movies are not the same as science.

Science fiction is scientific fantasy, which is based on natural science and explores the development of future technology, society and culture through fantasy.

Science is certainly important, but imagination is even more important; this is the core element that distinguishes science fiction creators from scientists.

Just like a line of poetry I really like: "A perilous tower rises a hundred feet high, one can pluck the stars with their hand."

The towering structure, hundreds of feet high, can be seen as an objective description of natural conditions, much like a description of natural science.

The idea that one could pluck the stars from the sky is a romantic notion of a towering building hundreds of feet high.

Standing atop a precarious building hundreds of feet high, it felt as if I could reach out and pluck the stars from the sky.

This is both a romanticized description of nature's heights and a testament to humanity's determination and courage—to pluck the stars from the sky.

We read Li Bai's poems from a young age, and this subtle cultural nourishment is invaluable, shaping the spiritual core of us Chinese people.

So when you look at Western science fiction, even when interstellar colonization has occurred, people are still fighting with lightsabers, which shows a lack of imagination.

But our science fiction, such as Liu Cixin's works, has such a grand worldview as The Three-Body Problem, with its dark forest theory, two-dimensional foil attacks, and The Wandering Earth taking the entire Earth on a journey through the universe.

While Liu's intelligence and talent certainly contributed to writing such a book, it was also nourished by Chinese culture.

This is the significance of science fiction.

Li Bai nourished Chinese civilization with his romantic poetry, and we also want to create some romantic science fiction works to enrich the spiritual and cultural development of modern China.

If a child has seen the movie *Pacific Rim*, they may not understand the scientific principles, but they will surely remember the romantic image of the dragon lock drawing energy from space to block off the entire Pacific Ocean, and they will also remember humanity's courage in the face of crisis.

Jiang Yifeng paused for a moment at this point.

The entire audience spontaneously burst into applause.

Liu Cixin clapped the most enthusiastically on stage.

This was the most brilliant explanation of science fiction and its significance that he had ever heard.

Jiang Yifeng compares science fiction with Li Bai's poetry, elevating the scope and significance of science fiction films and novels.

After the applause subsided, Jiang Yifeng continued, "Now that we've clarified the science fiction concept, let's go back to the Pacific Rim movie."

As you said before, collecting energy from space and transmitting it to the ground is difficult to achieve with current technology.

Actually, when I was filming, the first thing that came to my mind was microwave energy transmission.

Microwave energy transmission is a new concept in aerospace technology. Its working principle is to use a land-based high-power microwave device to send energy directionally to the heat exchanger at the bottom of the space shuttle. After conversion, the energy is generated to propel the spacecraft's launch.

The heat exchanger can achieve an energy capture and conversion efficiency of about 90%, which is much higher than that of lasers.

Moreover, this concept has been gradually tested and has achieved some results.

It might be more reasonable for us to transmit energy from space using microwaves.

However, microwaves are far less dazzling and colorful in film and television than lasers.

So after much consideration, I still chose to use laser to transmit energy.

Beams of laser light descended from the sky and landed on the sea platform, resembling both the fleeting flashes of falling meteors and the ignition of hope.

This is the kind of picture that everyone prefers to see, and it also better brings the beauty of science to life.

Moreover, there is a scientific logic to how lasers transmit energy.

You can learn about laser power transmission projects. Although the energy conversion efficiency is only over 40%, the scientific principles have been developed.

Therefore, there is nothing wrong with our choice of laser for energy transmission; it does not violate the physical laws that humanity has currently discovered.

The truth becomes clearer through debate, and Jiang Yifeng truly has a wealth of knowledge.

If he doesn't explain, many viewers will still be confused and think the Dragon-Trapping Lock scheme is too fantastical.

However, after the explanation was made clear, especially after real-world examples of microwave and laser energy transmission, the audience became more accepting of the Dragon Lock.

At this moment, the audience below the stage all felt that Jiang Yifeng was really awesome, and Cui Tiejun was right, he could become a professor.

Zhang Yimou shook his head and smiled bitterly.

He felt that Jiang Yifeng was not human. A director with such a rich knowledge of science and engineering was going to overwhelm other directors in the country!

The audience member who had just asked the question then prompted, "And the second question, wasn't China portrayed as too powerful in the movie?"

Jiang Yifeng smiled and said, "This is a science fiction film from China, so of course it's going to show the strength of our country. Is that hard for you to understand?"

Besides, in terms of manufacturing strength, we are number one in the world.

The Noah's Ark in the 2012 disaster movie made by Americans was made in China.

I make films based on realistic logic and what I've seen and heard, yet you insist that I have a strong bias.

Then I can only say that the idea that America is better is deeply ingrained in your mind; you've been kneeling for too long and can't stand up anymore.

This audience member was clearly trying to cause trouble, and Jiang Yifeng didn't tolerate him, giving him a few sharp retorts.

The audience burst into laughter. Unwilling to give up, the audience member asked again, "There's another plot hole in the movie!"
The English Peninsula is in the Atlantic Ocean, not in the Pacific Rim. Why would a snail appear there?

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yifeng explained, "First of all, snails do swim, and a few snails will swim to the Atlantic Ocean."

This is also why humanity is able to unite.

If the molluscs only attacked the Pacific Rim, would other countries have remained pacified? The plot involves the molluscs attacking the English Peninsula, thus triggering global panic; this is both normal and necessary.

Secondly, the Dragon-Trapping Lock traps hundreds of snails in the Pacific Ocean, while a few snails remain outside.

These scattered strange beasts can be fought off and eliminated by humans.

This also relates to the plot of Pacific Rim 2, but I won't spoil it too much.

Jiang Yifeng's explanation was very clear and logically sound.

This argumentative viewer was speechless.

He sat down somewhat dejectedly, but his female companion had already covered her face and moved away, clearly feeling ashamed to have such a boyfriend.

After answering a few more questions, the Pacific Rim premiere event came to an end.

Thanks to the promotion by Fengxing Media, topics related to the Pacific Rim trended on social media that very evening.

#Professor Jiang Yifeng#
#Jiang Yifeng praised by academicians#
#Pacific Rim is the best sci-fi movie#
#Zhang Yimou admires#
#Island Nation Suffers Another Military Attack#
Topics such as these were hotly discussed by netizens on Weibo.

Among them, the Weibo account of Luo Yong is one of the most popular.

"I attended the premiere of Pacific Rim today, and I'm really looking forward to this movie."

Because the special effects for Godzilla were done by Monsters, Inc., and they were of a very high standard.

Despite such high expectations, I watched Pacific Rim and was still blown away, blown away beyond words!
Jiang Yifeng is awesome!

How could someone make such an amazing movie!

The Dragon-Trapping Lock is simply a brilliant idea!
I think it was only right that the island nation was sunk for this movie!

Liu Cixin said that Pacific Rim is the best science fiction movie, and I support him 100%!
What shocked me even more was the post-viewing interview.

Jiang Yifeng's understanding of science fiction films, his interpretation of Li Bai's poems, and his rich knowledge of science and engineering are all truly amazing!
After leaving the movie theater, I had many thoughts.

I truly believe that Chinese films and even Chinese industry are already world-class!

Our products are no worse than others.

I'm even more confident now; I'm sure I can make a phone that's even better than Apple's!

Smartisan T1 is just the beginning. Thank you for your support!
We will definitely continue our efforts, and one day we will surpass Apple!

Luo Yonghao is a very intelligent person; he sensed the shift in public opinion.

So starting two years ago, he turned around and began to praise Jiang Yifeng, which earned him a lot of traffic and attention.

When the Smartisan T1 was released in May of this year, Luo Yonghao went to great lengths to promote Jiang Yifeng in order to sell the phone.

He also repeatedly stated on Weibo that he would spend a huge sum of money to hire Jiang Yifeng as his spokesperson.

But Jiang Yifeng did not respond to him.

It's just that netizens enjoy watching the spectacle.

The key issue is that Luo Yonghao still maintains a very tough attitude towards others, such as Lei Jun and Yu Minhong, and he continues to criticize them.

But then his attitude towards Jiang Yifeng took a complete turn, from hurling insults at him to flattering him.

This was actually a character deliberately created for Rayong, but people like to watch it.

Therefore, every time Luo Yonghao posts a Weibo post related to Jiang Yifeng, it gets a lot of attention.

It's the same this time.

His choice of words and sentence structure were very exaggerated, which interested netizens, especially someone who used to be a Japanophile. His statement that he would be willing to bomb the island nation to the ground sparked heated discussions and aroused everyone's curiosity.

What exactly is the plot of Pacific Rim?
Fengxing Media also edited the speeches of Jiang Yifeng, Liu Cixin, and others at the premiere into a video and posted it online.

This has generated a lot of discussion even before the film has been released.

People discussed various aspects of the concept of science fiction, the actual strength of China's industry, and whether Jiang Yifeng was truly a professor.

Jiang Yifeng already had a good reputation, and after attending the premiere, the big V's praised him even more, with all sorts of exaggerated comments.

With all the publicity surrounding it, the release of Pacific Rim was highly anticipated.

In this context, on the morning of July 1st, Maoyan Movies announced the official launch of its "Visual Effects Special Offer" campaign.

"Maoyan supports the development of special effects in China and launches a special subsidy for 'Pacific Rim' in IMAX!"

"To make the best movie special effects available to everyone."

"A cinematic audiovisual spectacle, costing only the price of a fast food meal!"

"Watch a movie, or even step into a movie theater, Maoyan brings you Pacific Rim IMAX!"

Riding the wave of the Pacific Rim hype, Maoyan's advertising quickly attracted a large number of customers.

People clicked into Maoyan and found that this software is really useful. Not only can you buy movie tickets at a discounted price, but you can also select seats in advance.

Moreover, Maoyan's advertising is not just hype; you can buy IMAX tickets for Pacific Rim for as low as 39.9 yuan on this app!
Maoyan had a smooth conversation with cinemas and IMAX, and managed to lower the IMAX ticket price by 10 yuan.

At 39.9 yuan, it's even cheaper than a regular 3D movie ticket!
In this context, IMAX tickets for Pacific Rim were purchased in large quantities.

Maoyan currently allows customers to pre-purchase tickets for the first three days.

In just one day, more than 85% of the IMAX tickets for the first three days of Pacific Rim were snapped up, leaving only some very poor seats.

But people are still scrambling for them.

In addition, some people opted out of the crowds and opted for regular 3D movie tickets instead.

There are some discounts available for regular 3D tickets, but the discounts are relatively small.

At 1 a.m. on July 4, Maoyan issued an announcement.

"As of 24:7 on July 3, the total pre-sale box office for Pacific Rim reached 3.6 million yuan!"
IMAX box office revenue reached 1.77 million yuan, with an average occupancy rate of 94%!

Let's congratulate "Pacific Rim: Survival of the Fittest" on setting a new box office pre-sale record!

Watch Pacific Rim in IMAX on Maoyan Movies!

After Maoyan issued this announcement, Jiang Yifeng immediately forwarded it on Weibo and wrote: "The pre-sale of Pacific Rim has achieved a small goal, and I am quite satisfied at the moment."

But this is the box office performance over three days, meaning that the pre-sales for one day were only 1.2 million yuan.

There's still a lot of room for improvement in this result, keep up the good work!

Even at 1 a.m., Jiang Yifeng's Weibo post was trending on social media.

People were shocked by Pacific Rim's pre-sale box office of 3.6 million, but also felt uncomfortable with Jiang Yifeng's Versailles.

Even Zhang Yimou, who had just registered a personal Weibo account at Jiang Yifeng's urging, commented with three words.

"Does anyone speak?"

(End of this chapter)