When I saw this story on Saturday, I wanted nothing more than to post it first thing this morning, but when I tried to start writing about it, I really couldn’t think of the right words to say. The story, of course, is that a young boy named Zachary is terminally ill and the Make-A-Wish Foundation wanted to make his dream come true. You can already cue the eye sweat for me, because f*ck you, cancer.
Zachary’s wish? To meet and dress up like Hellboy. That’s about the coolest thing I think I’ve ever heard already. But it gets infinitely cooler because not only did Spectral Motion, the makeup special effects company that worked on the Hellboy films agree to make Zachary look like Hellboy, but Ron Perlman agreed to settle into the makeup chair for a few hours and make this kid’s complete wish come true.
Damn it, humanity. Just when I think you’re dead, you pull something like this and completely kick cynicism in the head.
From the Spectral Motion Facebook page, with a hat tip to Super Hero Hype:
In the past three weeks, Spectral Motion has been honored to host two wonderful Make-A-Wish children, Caleb and Zachary. Zachary loved his visit for two very special reasons. It was Zachary’s wish to meet Hellboy and also to become Hellboy. When the Make-A-Wish Foundation contacted Spectral Motion with this request, Mike thought it would be fantastic to have Ron Perlman reprise his role for the day. Ron loved the idea and donned the makeup once more (with the assistance of Lufeng Qu and Eden Elizalde) and also ordered a Hellboy sized meal of burgers, shakes, and fries for Zachary and his family and the entire Spectral crew to enjoy. Later in the day, Zachary was transformed into Hellboy with the assistance of makeup artists Lufeng Qu and Neil Winn. Both of the Make-A-Wish days were a complete thrill for the families of the children, as well as for the crew at Spectral Motion!
That’s just awesome. I don’t really have any other way to put it. Good for Perlman, and I hope that if the universe does react accordingly to acts like this, Clay Morrow’s going to have an Emmy on his mantle soon enough. He already deserved it, but in case anyone at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is paying attention, this is the kind of stuff we love.