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Disney CEO Steps In To Help Dying 'Star Wars' Fan See The New Film Before Its Release
The CEO of Disney came through after responding to a tweet from a Hampshire hospice looking to secure a viewing of the new Star Wars film for a dying fan.
The final installment of the nine-part saga – The Rise Of Skywalker – is due for release in UK cinemas on December 19, but for one Rowans Hospice patient time is of the essence.
“Can you help? We have a patient who's a HUGE #StarWars fan. Sadly, time is not on his side for the 20th Dec," @RowansHospice tweeted.
“His wish is to see the final Star Wars film #RiseOfSkywalker with his young son. If you know ANYBODY who might be able to make it happen, please share with them. Thank you."
Social media users offered help, suggesting email addresses and Twitter handles to get in touch with, before Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker originally, responded.
“Contact @Disney. They are the only ones who can make this happen. Good luck!" he wrote.
The next day, chief executive of the Walt Disney Company Bob Iger got in touch, replying: “Please provide me with the necessary details and we will certainly try."
The hospice responded to Iger by thanking him “for trying to help with this when time is absolutely of the essence" and passed on an email address.
One Twitter user wrote, “Awesome … A real class act", while another tweeted, “Thank you for trying Robert."
A few days later the screening took place.
“On this Thanksgiving, we @Disney are grateful to be able to share #TheRiseOfSkywalker with a patient and his family @RowansHospice. May the force be with you and with us all!" he posted.
The Rowans Hospice posted a picture of a Disney representative on that day. His job was to deliver the laptop with the movie. And, the screening seemed to be a success.
“I am utterly speechless. We cannot thank Disney enough for confirming that they will be able share the film to fulfill our patient's wish," Lisa Davies, the healthcare support worker who brought the patient's wish to the attention of the rest of the staff at Rowans, said.
“We totally appreciate that they have had to move mountains to make this happen," she continued. “The response from everyone, including the Star Wars community, has been absolutely phenomenal over the last few days. So a massive thank you to every single person that has shared our post and given their time to help make this possible."
They even threw a Star Wars-themed party.
The success of the appeal was welcomed by many people on Twitter, including Michael Eisner – the owner of Portsmouth FC who is a former Disney chief executive.
“Very happy to see that this is happening! The whole community of Portsmouth on the south coast of England appreciates what @Disney has done," he posted.