Some directors and actors do a lot to make sure their biggest fans know they are appreciated, but not every fan has enough time. That’s certainly the case with a lifelong Godzilla fan who died just as a campaign to get a special screening of the latest monster movie could get legs on social media.
The story is sweet — George Root III, a Godzilla superfan and writer in Lockport, New York, was diagnosed with cancer and said his dying wish would be to see Godzilla: King Of The Monsters before he died. The movie was supposed to come out last summer but was delayed nearly a year, and as Root’s cancer has advanced he feared he would not get a chance to see the movie.
A local drive-in movie theatre wanted to help Root get a copy of the film to screen, as he feared he would not make it to May to see the movie on opening day. The Buffalo News wrote about the campaign on Thursday, and it started to gain some attention online.
“There’s only one thing George loves more than the drive-in, and that’s Godzilla,” Cohen said.
Root, a Lockport resident and former newspaper reporter, was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma in December 2015. As his prognosis got worse, he had hoped to hang on until the movie’s original release date, scheduled for June last year. Delays pushed the release back to May, but Root likely has days to live, not months.
“He was hoping he could hold on for just a couple more months,” said Cohen. “He really wanted to see it before his time is up.”
But later on Thursday there was sad news: Root had passed away from complications with his cancer.
It's too late. George's wife just announced on his Facebook that the lovable fellow passed away this morning. Kudos to Rick Cohen, @TheBuffaloNews, @allwnynews, and everyone on social media for giving it the college try to have George see the film. RIP, George. #GodzillaForGeorge https://t.co/Z4rQvoNEAq
— Bob Confer (@bobconfer) March 7, 2019
And indeed, the Buffalo News updated a story on Thursday to note that Root died of cancer before the story could attract enough attention to get him a screening of the film. There was an outpouring of support for Root on social media with the hashtag #GodzillaforGeorge.
It's never easy with the passing of a loved one or friend. But, George is in a better place. I've no doubt he's meeting with some of the legends we lost over the years. Ifukube, Nakajima, just to name a few. Rest in Peace George.#GodzillaForGeorge #RoarTogether pic.twitter.com/qt1XwA3cBl
— Ultraman_Ultimo (Commissions Open) (@NeoUltimo) March 7, 2019
https://twitter.com/Jurassic_Subbie/status/1103780077928701953
Even King Of The Monsters director Michael Dougherty retweeted a #GodzillaforGeorge tweet mourning the loss of Root on Thursday.
https://twitter.com/resistance0101/status/1103699175043145731
He later tweeted another still from the movie on Thursday.
King of Kings. pic.twitter.com/4PXvm1mDao
— Mike Dougherty (@Mike_Dougherty) March 7, 2019
The Buffalo News story notes that fans hope the campaign can be turned into an effort to get his name into the movie’s credits.