Not ashamed to admit I teared up a bit while reading this:
Daniel Fleetwood received his dying wish to know what happened next in the Stars War saga.
The mega-fan, who is terminally ill, received a phone call from director JJ Abrams sometime Wednesday who said he wanted to give Fleetwood a private screening of the uncut version. On Thursday, Fleetwood watched the four-hour unedited film, which isn’t being released until Dec. 18.
“Daniel really wanted to see that movie. That was the thing he was hanging on for,” his father, Dennis Fleetwood, told The Washington Post.
His son has spindle cell sarcoma, a rare form of connective soft tissue cancer. The older Fleetwood, 62, who is an anesthesiologist, said his son’s illness is progressing quickly.
Fleetwood introduced his son to the first three Stars Wars movies when he was very young, and his son watched them over and over. When the newer films were released, he camped out for tickets. He kept one ticket marked “001.” He was the first in line.
Daniel’s wife, Ashley, started the #ForceforDaniel campaign for her husband of five years to see the movie before he died and it quickly spread across the Internet, even catching the attention of some actors of the film, including Mark Hamill who played Luke Skywalker. Hamill retweeted the good news Thursday, adding, “I just read this and am elated for Daniel & his family! Thanks to the powers-that-be for making his dream come true.”
