Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson sent a special message to a terminally ill super-fan suffering from cancer as part of the fan's bucket list.
Nineteen year-old Chris Betancourt's hardships began when he was in 5th grade after moving from North Carolina to California with his mother, father and sister. Even though he was nervous as any child would be after a big move, he made life-long friends with Dillon and Vincent, who shared a similar interest in video games. On Memorial Day 2009, Chris was rushed to the hospital after passing out at the beach and was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. After months of treatment Chris eventually entered remission.
Related: Peter Jackson Is Directing a World War I Documentary
In 2017, Chris received devastating news - his cancer had returned as a new, mutated string that is resilient to most of the experimental drugs he had used prior. Chris was told he only had one year left to live and expressed to his best friend, "I'm afraid I won't be able to experience the things I want to in life." This prompted his best friend to dropout of college to complete their bucket list together creating the YouTube channel "One List, One Life" where they post videos of their experiences together. In their latest video, Chris met with Burnie Burns and Barbara Dunkelman to watch the theatrical cut of the Lord of The Rings trilogy back-to-back. Chris received a huge surprise, director Peter Jackson shared a special message with Chris before the viewing the movies. Here is what Jackson said:
“Hello Chris, this is Peter Jackson, sending you some well-wishes from New Zealand. I gotta say, you are doing something I've never done. I've never had the courage to watch all three Lord of the Rings movies in a single moment."
Jackson was moved by Chris' story and admittedly impressed that he watched all three Lord of the Rings movies back-to-back. After watching the films, Chris toured the Rooster Teeth Office and Rooster Teeth Studio, an American production company located mainly in Austin, Texas that is known for their web series. Chris got to see Achievement Hunter during a GTA Let's Play, appeared on their podcast, got to meet Jessica Nigri and more.
Currently, the friends are looking for donations on their Patreon account so they can complete their bucket list. They are also looking for a bone marrow donor to help Chris win his fight and defeat his cancer. Check out their website about how you can help Chris, learn more about his story and donate to their charity Gamer's Gift - a non-profit organization with the aim of using video games and other electronic media to alleviate some of the psychological stress caused by prolonged hospital stays, loneliness, poverty, or any other unfortunate circumstances one might face.
More: Lord Of The Rings: 16 Things You Didn’t Know About Rivendell
Source: One List, One Life (YouTube)