Dying 'Star Wars' fan seeks early screening | Inquirer Entertainment

Dying ‘Star Wars’ fan seeks early screening

/ 11:02 AM November 04, 2015

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CHICAGO, United States—A terminally ill Star Wars fan is hoping producers will grant his dying wish of an early screening of the latest installment of the sci-fi blockbuster.

An online campaign to support his quest drew the attention of Mark Hamill—the actor who plays the legendary Luke Skywalker—who retweeted two Twitter posts hoping to bring the “Force for Daniel.”

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John Boyega, who plays the lead character Finn in the upcoming “The Force Awakens,” also retweeted a Tweet about the campaign.

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Daniel Fleetwood, 32, has been a fan since he was eight or nine years old. He is dying of a rare form of connective tissue cancer.

His doctors told him in July that he only had a couple of months left to live, but he says his desire to see “The Force Awakens”—set for wide release on December 18—is helping him to hold on.

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“I just love Star Wars,” he told KPRC-TV in Houston, Texas.  “With everything I got, I love Star Wars.”

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Fleetwood is spending his last days at his Texas home in hospice care with his wife, Ashley, who is grateful for his love of the movie.

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“It’s a commitment and he still has that commitment, that drive, and that love and I think that it’s a beautiful thing,” she said. “Even if it’s just a movie. That’s magic for a lot of people.”

Unfortunately, they don’t think he will be able to last another six weeks.

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“Judging by how progressive the disease has gotten in the past two months, I really don’t think that I’ll be able to make it,” he said as he rocked back and forth, wearing a shirt declaring “Vader Don’t Care.”

“Please do what you can. Help me.”

There is a precedent for his request: “The Force Awakens” director J.J. Abrams granted a similar wish to a Star Trek fan, Daniel Craft, who died shortly after watching a rough cut of “Star Trek Into Darkness” in 2013.

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TAGS: Blockbuster, Entertainment, Fan, Film, Sci-Fi, Screening, Star Wars

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