James Royal: 'Star Trek' fan who got final wish to see 'Into Darkness' dies
BY JAMES ROYAL World Scene Writer
Wednesday, January 09, 2013
1/09/13 at 3:04 AM
J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof are my new favorite people in Hollywood, and it has nothing to do with anything they've put on the movie screen. It's because of a guy named Daniel Craft.
This story has been all over the Internet the past couple of weeks. Craft, a movie buff, was diagnosed with leukemia at 38. He underwent round after round of chemo and a bone marrow transplant before he was hit by another cancer that left him with just weeks to live. With so little time left, one of the last things he wanted to see was the nine-minute sneak preview of "Star Trek Into Darkness" that was shown with "The Hobbit" in some IMAX theaters.
But when "The Hobbit" opened, Craft was hospitalized. When his wife, Paige, was finally able to get him to the movie, there was no "Into Darkness" preview.
So Craft's friend Doug posted a plea from his wife on Reddit asking for help getting Craft a chance to see "Into Darkness" or the preview.
Eventually, that plea made its way to the film's director, Abrams, and Lindelof, a producer. About a day after the Reddit post, Abrams called Paige Craft and left a message.
"The next day, one of the film's producers showed up at the door of their apartment with a DVD containing a very rough cut of 'Star Trek: Into Darkness' in his hands," friend Grady Hendrix posted on Reddit on Saturday. "Paige had made popcorn, Dan had spent the previous day resting so he could sit through the movie, and after signing about 200 nondisclosure agreements they watched the film and had a blast."
Craft returned to bed after the film. His wife took him to the hospital Friday, and he died that night.
"J.J. Abrams and the producer who came to give them the early cut told Paige and Dan, 'Please don't judge this - it's very rough, but we wanted you to see what we had,'" Hendrix said in a story from "The Hollywood Reporter." "Of course, he loved the film. It was the last thing he got to do before he passed away."
Original Print Headline: 'Star Trek' filmmakers grant dying man's wish
Associated Images:
Zachary Quinto (left), Benedict Cumberbatch and Chris Pine star in "Star Trek: Into Darkness." The filmmakers put together a rough-cut of the film on DVD for Daniel Craft, a "Star Trek" fan with leukemia. Craft died last week after seeing the film. COURTESY / Paramount Pictures
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