Hats off to J.J. Abrams, who let a dying Trekkie watch Star Trek Into Darkness ahead of release

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J.J Abrams, you just jumped way up our list of “Top Blokes”. The Lost co-creator and Star Trek director made an amazing gesture over the Christmas period, granting a seriously ill Trekkie his dying wish of watching the forthcoming Star Trek Into Darkness movie way ahead of its 17 May 2013 release date.

Reddit user ideeeyut had posted a message on the Star Trek subreddit, posting a pie-in-the-sky wish from his pal Dan. Dan, suffering the crippling effects of two separate cancers and without long left to live, was hoping to see Star Trek sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness, before his death. With the release date a few months away, that was looking unlikely, but with the might of the Reddit userbase circulating the story around the net, it eventually made its way to J.J. Abrams himself.

And Abrams delivered the goods. What a dude. Abrams only concern? That Dan wouldn’t enjoy the movie 100% because it’s still only in a rough edit stage. Hats off.

The Reddit user later posted this heartwarming message from Dan’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,” she wrote. “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… Also, it was truely amazing that a filmmaker so secretive as JJ Abrams was kind enough to show this to us.

“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 percent enjoy the screening as it’s still being worked on… Be assured we enjoyed it 110 percent!

“We are so grateful thank you, thank you, thank you…”

Great, great stuff. It’s like the movie Fanboys come true.

Gerald Lynch
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