'Dune' director sent his laptop to help a dying fan watch the sequel before its release

A movie buff in palliative care had one last wish, to watch "Dune: Part Two" before he died. So six weeks before the movie's original release, the director Denis Villeneuve arranged for the man to watch the movie. With curtains drawn and with complete discretion the man and his friend watched the movie in a palliative care facility in Quebec. The director made it possible by sending his laptop along with his assistant. The people involved also signed a non-disclosure agreement and had to put away their phones to avoid any leaks. Josee Gagnon, whose charity was involved with making the viewing possible, told The Washington Post that getting the film to the man was a race against time. 

Gagnon is the founder of the charity L'Avant which is focused on helping people fulfil their dreams at the end of their lives. The founder said she could share the story only after the film was released. However, she declined to reveal the man's identity to protect his privacy. She shared the story in an interview and also wrote a Facebook post about the same. Gagnon said she put out a post in January asking if anyone knew the director. Time was of the essence in this case as the person only had a few weeks left to live. There were no more details in the post but the message eventually reached Villeneuve. 

Gagnon shared that the director and his wife Tanya Lapointe, who is also the executive producer of the film, were very touched by the man's last wish. They told Gagnon that it was precisely for passionate fans of cinema that the couple made films. So they got on board to fulfill the man's wish. Initially, the couple wanted to fly him to Montreal or Los Angeles so he could watch the film at its premiere. In an interview with Radio Canada, Gagnon shared that it would not be possible because he was too weak. They weren't even sure if he would be alive by the time the movie premiered. Hope was dwindling as more time passed, but eventually, on January 16, Villeneuve's assistant flew to Quebec along with the director's laptop and took it to the Palliative Care Centre 130 miles north of Quebec City.   

The man doesn't speak English and had to watch the film with French subtitles. Gagnon shared that he was so weak that he felt that he might die while watching the film. Eventually, the man didn't get to see the entire film and had to stop halfway through because he was in pain. He died a few days later. Many people involved in the project felt that it was a failure because the man didn't get to see the ending. Gagnon believes that it doesn't matter. What matters is that the man saw people around him toil to fulfill his last wish and see it come to fruition somehow. She says that people need to believe that everything is possible if we put our hearts into something. The philanthropist also added that when she sees the movie after its release she would think about the man.