Would the terminally ill Star Wars fan who was granted an early viewing of &#39;The Force Awakens&#39; have been legally bound to keep the plot a secret?
<p>Since reading the news story about Disney and Lucasfilm granting a terminally ill Star Wars fan's wish to see the New Star Wars movie before he was taken by cancer (Good guys Disney and Lucasfilm!); I have been curious as to what the legal situation would have been surrounding watching such a closely guarded and long-awaited storyline before general release. Would he be contractually (or otherwise) obliged to keep all plotpoints to himself? Would the fact that he was terminally ill and not a film critic mean that this legal situation would differ from that which binds critics who see films before general release (assuming that critics are bound in any way)?</p>

<p>I must clarify I do not have a great knowledge of law so I'm not looking for fine detail specifics, but a layman explanation would be very interesting. </p>

<p>Daniel Fleetwood, and his wife who watched the movie with him, were bound <a href="http://m.tmz.com/#article/2015/11/05/star-wars-force-awakens-cancer-patient/" rel="nofollow">by a confidentiality agreement</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>She can't say much more because she had to sign a confidentiality agreement. </p>
</blockquote>

<p>Basically, both he and his wife signed a contract, if they had said anything they would have been in breach of that contract and could have been sued. </p>

<p>Such agreements are standard, even for actors, so presumably, the lawyers at Disney know what they are doing when they write such a contract. NDAs such as this often <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/shortcuts/2014/oct/19/non-disclosure-agreement-arch-enemy-the-arts-critic" rel="nofollow">specify hefty fines</a>. </p>

<p>I am doubtful that his illness would have meant they would have lost a case against him in that situation - it would have meant a whole lot of negative publicity, but if the contract was legally binding, the health condition does not matter. </p>

<p>Daniel himself <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2015/11/10/entertainment/dying-star-wars-fan-force-awakens-update/" rel="nofollow">died five days after watching the movie</a>. </p>

contract-law