Today we share a sad story about a fellow Star Trek fan that has a touching silver lining. On Christmas Day a friend of a lifelong Trek fan’s family made a post on Reddit about how it was this fan’s dying wish to see Star Trek Into Darkness. And the message eventually worked its way to the powers that be with Trek and it looks like the fan is going to get his wish. More details below.
Fan granted dying wish to see ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’
Earlier this month a 41-year-old Trek fan from New York who is suffering from terminal cancer tried to see the nine minutes IMAX preview of Star Trek Into Darkness, but unfortunately the theater he went to wasn’t showing the preview. A second attempt was thwarted by a trip to the hospital where he was told he had less than two months to live. Being that Into Darkness wont be in theaters for five months, this prompted a friend of the family to to make a post on Reddit on Christmas Day asking "Please come to the rescue of a Star Trek fan."
Eventually news of this got to the attention of Paramount and Bad Robot. While this is being treated by all parties as a private matter and there will likely be no official announcements regarding it, TrekMovie has confirmed that they reached out to the family and are working on a plan to get this fan some kind of screening. Of course the film itself is not actually in a complete form. For example at the recent Bad Robot event, composer Michael Giacchino confirmed he hasn’t recorded any music beyond what was needed for the nine minute preview. However, TrekMovie has been told that some kind of "rough form" of the film will be screened for the dying fan sometime soon.
It is quite moving that the team behind this movie would go to this effort for just one fan, especially in light of the high level of secrecy surrounding the project. TrekMovie commends JJ Abrams and the people at Paramount and Bad Robot for their efforts to grant this fan’s wish.
A post on Reddit leads to a dying fan’s wish being granted
Flashback to Randy Pausch
While extraordinary, it should not be entirely surprising that this fan’s dying wish has been granted. Some readers may remember that four years ago director JJ Abrams reached out to professor Randy Pausch who was also terminally ill and had gained fame for his inspirational "last lecture" on "Achieving Your Childhood Dreams." Abrams offered the professor (who was also a life-long Star Trek fan) a small part in 2009’s Star Trek film. This lead to Paush flying to LA and becoming a member of the bridge crew of the USS Kelvin. He even got a line (see below). Unfortunately Pausch passed away in late 2008 before he could see himself on the big screen, but he will live in Star Trek forever.
Pausch’s cameo giving Capt. Robau of the USS Kelvin an update
Nice going J.J and Bad Robot. Always good tom see someone get a last Wish. I am a big supoporter of Make a Wish Foundation. Look’s like Star Trek is doing some more good work.
To the Fan I hope you are able to see it and I hope somehow that you Live Long and Prosper.
Hey Anthony. I hope you can update us on this fan in seeing Star Trek.
make this so bad robot…
Nice touch from JJ and company. Would it be asking to much for the usual contingent of JJ bashers to not actualy bash JJ on this thread?
Best wishes to the unnamed fan and their family.
this is what makes me pleased to be a Trekkie but also restores your faith in mankind a bit.. Well played all involved! :)
AP, the only update necessary will be that the wish was carried out, and that the fan and their family are happy and at peace. That’s all we need to know.
Very cool, Anthony.
I’m just curious though, why did you delete my post thanking Bob Orci and the supreme court this in the 9/11 thread, only to post an article about this one hour later?
I don’t believe I’m owed an explanation, it’s your house you can delete or ban whoever you want, but that was just frankly bizarre.
Roddenberry
Article was in the queue and I try to keep on things on topic, figured comments can go here and not in article about lindelof
RE: updates
Not sure there will be updates. All involved really want this to be a private matter. I even debated posting this at all. when I was informed of it on Xmas day I didnt want to seem to be pressuring the powers that be with some kind of campaign when logistics may not be possible. But since it was kind of going viral and seemed to have a happy ending I posted what could be reported. But I think I will respect the wishes for keeping this private moving forward, unless that changes
Wow, way to go JJ and BR; stories like this make me feel so proud to be a Trekkie. All my.best to the Fan and his friends and loved ones….
I love stories like this especially when it is kept as low-profile as possible. It highlights the sincerity of the act. Good job to everyone involved!
@9. Understood, allow me to rephrase…
If an update is provided, all that needs to be communicated is that the wish was carried out, and that the fan and their family are happy and at peace.
I think Mr. Roddenberry would’ve been proud to see Paramount, Bad Robot, and all those involved with the new feature film reach out to this individual and the family. Another example of how Star Trek ideals and beliefs can touch the lives of those we don’t even know. If we all reached out to our fellow man and did what we could to make life just a little better no matter how small or how big the act of kindness is…imagine how much better this world would be.
@8 AP. Understood, sir. While my heart was in the right place in posting in that thread, knowing the full story, I guess I was being a jerk just now. Apologies for the trouble.
Anyway, it’s really cool he’s going to get to see a rough cut. And to any of the supreme court who might be reading, I want to thank you guys for thinking of this guy in his time of need, and also for making a cynical fanboy like me have their faith in humanity renewed once again. ;)
no jerkness at all, it was a nice thought to share of course
This is really terrific.
That is a lovely thing to do. Best wishes to that fan and his family.
It’s the mundane things in life that must be so hard to deal with when a diagnosis like this is made. If you were told you had weeks to live – and I hope no one reading this right now is going through that – then I’m sure you can picture yourself thinking about friends and family, but imagine knowing you’d never see a particular Star Trek movie again? You watch The Voyage Home one last time, and that’s it. That’s the last time. The last time you eat at McDonalds. The last time you get on a bus. The last time you stroke your cat. Just the silly, small things that make up a day-to-day life.
Amazing that they’re going to do as much as they humanly can to get this guy to see what he can of his final Trek film. Good going guys.
Beautiful.
He is a hero. Star Trek has always brought hope to humanity. Good luck, friend, never lose hope
The kind of heartwarming thing I welcome to hear at this time of year.
About the only “update” I can think would be nice is if Paramount put out a disc of this version of the film with the proceeds from its sales to go to charity.
yes, well done Supreme Court.
I forgive you, JJ, for “Gone Fishin”
My 13 year old boy just asked me what I was reading. After I explained, he said, “They should be called Nice Robot.”
I will just say this.
THIS is what Star Trek is all about, nice work JJ & co
This is a true act of kindness .
I hope he enjoys the film.
Way to go JJ and Co.
I always like to see acts of kindness publicized the way Anthony has done in this article.
Star Trek is just fiction, but it’s made by people who are real. And it’s enjoyed by fans who are real. And they are no different from you or me.
When real people do things that show that there are considerations that go beyond money and personal profit, then that’s news indeed, because too few of us ever go that route. We’re too busy looking out for ourselves, because that’s just how the Real World and its demands work.
The fan who desires a special screening, it is thought, will soon pass from this world. My thoughts and prayers go with him and with his family. That he desires to see the next Star Trek film is touching and a testament to the power of the universe that Roddenberry created.
It behooves us as human beings to do all we can to be of assistance to others. Not only is this the spirit of the season, but it is the least that we can do, as human beings, in this cold, harsh world.
Thank you to all those who are working to make the fan’s wish a reality. You are doing what we would do, were we to follow the angels of our better nature.
Good.
Kudos to JJ Abrams, Paramount, and Bad Robot.
This is the kind of thing that makes me proud to be a Trek fan.
:-)
Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year to the folks here @ TrekMovie & to all the folks associated in the making of these new incarnations of Star Trek, everyone down to the actors, comic folks, musicians on the soundtrack, lighting crew, etc. A major praise to JJ for acknowledging & allowing a wish so wholeheartedly deserving of a fellow Trekkie. When someone in this unfortunate condition makes an attempt to view just a trailer, that in itself speaks volumes of how devoted a fan can be. Prayers go out to him & his family. This made my day.
That was truly wonderful of the Bad Robot guys to do this. Finished or not, they’re fulfilling the last wish of a dying ST fan and I am not sure what could be more bighearted than that! I can imagine Admiral Kirk saying, “Ready or not, she launches in 12 hours.”
My hats off to everybody who was behind this extraordinary decision.
May the Great Bird of the Galaxy Bless Your Planet.
Classy move.
;-)
Amazing. Good post, Pasqale. I believe we don’t need further news. It’s in Trek history already…
This is one of the most compassionate stories I’ve heard in a long, long time. The people that actually make this happen have my unbridled respect for this act of nobility. My thoughts and prayers go out to the terminally ill fan (and his family), and a respectful nod to Paramount and Bad Robot for this most gracious action.
I’m not gonna lie, but I’m more than a little jealous he’ll see the movie before us. Lol. I understand the courageous man’s position and all, but the rabid fan in me can’t help but be envious of what he’s gonna see so long before any of us. Lol.
I like this story.
Great story.
God bless this fan and those around him.
Wow…this is sad that the fan is going to pass, but better yet if he does get to see the movie in some kind of rough form. I hope this fan can live to see the film in it’s completed form. Even if he does see the rough edit…it would be great…if he could beat this cancer…mircles do happen.
amen to this!
wow you can’t feel sorry for yourself after reading this post…. its just impossible. i think at some point we all accept death, but for a trek fan to not be able ot finish watching JJ’s trek trilogy is unfair….. this is why i dont beleive in a god….. i mean really… wtf????
God bless the sick Trekker, all those at Bad Robot and Paramount for making the Trekker’s wish so. In Star Trek: Generations, Captain Picard sent a message to all of us about “making a difference.” An act of kindness by Bad Robot, J..J. Abrams and Paramount has made a difference that will reverberate all over the world.
My mother was dying of ALS. An acquaintance of mine was able to get us a studio copy of Galaxy Quest for her and we watched it five days before she died. I think people in the industry are incredibly generous to their fans. What a great thing.
This is one of many reasons why I love Trek.
Every generation needs a hero, a shinning bright light and a beacon that shows what we’re going through isn’t as bad as it can get, I hope this unsung battler of cancer gets his wish and that he may live on through the memories of his friends and family. God be with him and keep him as safe and healthy as possible and for as long as possibke.
I wish he could be cured in some way. Re-enjoy Star Trek in its full form:)
Thanks to JJ, Bad Robot and Paramount.
Sadly Star Trek’s vision of a future world without disease or famine is still a ways away. It’s beautiful gestures like this that give me hope that one day we will get there.
We had a friend, a lifelong Trek fan, who passed away before the 2009 movie came out. I’ve often thought about what would happen if she had been able to see an early sneak preview. I think she would have loved it. Please, Paramount and Bad Robot, make this happen. Thanks!
This reminds me so much of my 2008. With both my brother and sister passing away, and Trek 09 not yet out and BSG a year away from revealing the final cylons. I strongly considered contacting Ron Moore for something to tell them, afraid they would miss as they did, the final chapter in the saga.
I would show my brother stills from the 09 Trek and was hoping against hope he would make it to see the movie. He did not, but every time i hear the opening music, or see the Enterprise rise in Titans atmosphere I think of him.
Well done JJ, well done Paramount.
I’m surprised no one made a mention of the movie Fanboys, since it was about a group of friends who break into Skywalker Ranch (with the help of Captain Kirk’s own William Shatner) to help his dying friend get an early screening of Star Wars – Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Great movie, by the way, and Kristen Bell never looked better in Jabba’s Leia cosplay.
Kudos to the JJ team for doing this, my heart goes out to the fan and his family, too.
Nice !
Such a touching story; hope all goes well to grant this wish.
At times like this I remember how DeForest Kelley mentioned that
many times he had fans come up to him and tell him it was his
McCoy portrayal that inspired them to become a doctor. Wouldn’t it be great if it was one of those fans who finds the cure for cancer?