Terminally Ill Star Trek Fan Watches A Rough Cut Of Star Trek Into Darkness With His Family
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A few days ago, the story of a terminally-ill Star Trek fan named Daniel’s dying wish to watch the upcoming Star Trek Into Darkness early opened up the hearts of many people who read the heartbreaking story. Even Star Trek’s director JJ Abrams was touched by the dying fan’s plea and granted him his wish to watch an unfinished version of Star Trek Into Darkness months before its May 2013 release date.
According to TrekMovie.com, the 41-year-old Star Trek fan from Upstate New York watched the sequel film in a special private screening at Bad Robot Headquarters in Los Angeles, California on Sunday. Overjoyed by J.J. Abrams, Bad Robot, and Paramount Pictures’ charity, Daniel’s wife issued a statement about the special screening. The version of Star Trek Into Darkness they had watched was an unfinished, early rough cut of the film. Read the statement below…
Hi everyone, it’s Daniel’s wife, we are of course sworn to secrecy, BUT we are officially allowed to say we saw it and we enjoyed it IMMENSELY as a film and as a gesture…However; Daniel ‘hates’ being an ‘inspiring cancer story’ we his friends and loved ones would prefer for the update to have more of a heartfelt message of giving, especially during this season:
This is a story of us giving something to him, the ‘internet’ community giving something to him and ultimately being a heartwarming gift to our friends, family and so many others. This story of us (and of course JJ Abrams & Bad Robot) being able to give this surprise gift of a screening to a huge movie buff like Daniel, especially a film made by a film maker who obviously makes movies with such care, with a fan like Daniel in mind (and a person like me who knows slightly less about these things). Also, it was truly amazing that a film-maker so secretive as JJ Abrams was kind enough to show this to us.
It is also so wonderful for his friends & his family to finally hear some good news from us, They know how important film is to Daniel & could not think of a better way to please to him. So this gesture really has brought a lot of smiles all around.
It was a wonderful thing to see with Daniel and a wonderful thing to see Daniel enjoy – Making someone as ill as he is smile for any length of time really makes a difference. (At this point making me smile is good too)
This is also so poignant as JJ Abrams took so much care in the first Star Trek movie to at least TRY to get everything ‘right’ for the fans and we were so touched when he was concerned that we wouldn’t 100% enjoy the screening as it’s still being worked on…….Be assured we enjoyed it 110%! We are so grateful thank you, thank you, thank you…..
Daniel was given less than two months to live by the doctors who are treating him. He had trouble catching a preview screening of the first nine minutes of Star Trek Into Darkness before IMAX 3D screenings of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Daniel’s wife took to the Star Trek Reddit page and wrote a very touching plea for the Star Trek Internet community. Thankfully, their prayers were answered.
Of course Daniel and his family were sworn to secrecy about what they watched, but it’s really great to hear that he got a chance to watch Star Trek Into Darkness a few months before its release date. In the spirit of Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek, J.J. Abrams acted very generously. This story really embraces what Star Trek is really about.
Star Trek Into Darkness beams into theaters everywhere on May 17th 2013 in IMAX 3D.
