Man of the Week is back after a short hiatus to fully recover from all things holiday and with our return, we thought we’d kick off the year with a Man of the Week that’s accompanied by a pretty heartwarming story (shhh… don’t tell, but we’re softies at heart).
Lens flare issues aside, J.J. Abrams becomes the first Man of the Week in 2013 because, it turns out, the filmmaker has a heart as big as the tales he tells.
The story goes, Abrams, just a few short days ago, arranged for a dying fan to see a pre-screening of the latest Star Trek film, which isn’t due in theaters for months (June 29th). The fan, Dan Craft, passed away Friday from cancer. He was the director of the New York Asian Film Festival. Thanks to Reddit, a campaign was started to help Craft see the film. Abrams got wind of it and set up a screening just days before Craft’s death.
We’ve had our issues in the past with Abrams filmmaking—namely his frequent use of audience manipulation techniques—but, whatever we may dislike about the way he wields his craft, we think he’s shown himself to be a pretty classy guy. After all, filmmakers like Abrams owe a lot to fans like Dan Craft.
Personally, we’ve softened on our stance about Abrams filmmaking since seeing Super 8, where he truly did seem to be channeling Spielberg, and we’re excited for the release of Star Trek: Into Darkness (check out the trailer below).
And with that, we wrap up this first installment of Man of the Week for 2013—as always, let us know who you would like to see featured here by leaving a comment below or on our Facebook page.
(Images Courtesy: Film Stage and i09)
