Jeff Bezos’ son warned him not to “eff up” The Rings of Power
By Daniel Roman
In but a few short days, fans will finally be going back to Middle-earth with the release of Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. But will it be the Middle-earth we all know and love, or some pale imitation? Has Amazon, like the Dwarves of Khazad-Dûm, delved too greedily and too deep this time? It’s a fair concern.
At the center of those concerns is Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, one of the wealthiest people in the world. Despite being a business man to the core, Bezos has insisted that making The Rings of Power isn’t just about the money.
Bezos reflected on his lifelong love of Tolkien’s work at the U.K. premiere for The Rings of Power on August 30. “My grandfather’s the one who introduced me to Tolkien. I fell in love immediately. I was probably 13 or 14 years old. I fell in love with the adventure, of course, with the detailed universe, with the feelings of hope and optimism, with the idea that everybody has a role to play. And I’m happy to report that that cycle continues today.”
Jeff Bezos’ “Tolkien scholar” son warned him not to “eff up” The Rings of Power
That family tradition has continued, with Bezos introducing his own children to Middle-earth. “My kids have become Tolkien fans as well. In fact, one of my boys approaches the level of a Tolkien scholar. He knows so much about this universe. And after Amazon got involved in this project, my son came up to me one day, he looked me in the eyes very sincerely, and he said, ‘Dad, please don’t eff this up.’”
Solidarity, young Bezos; you expressed the fear we’ve all been feeling for months.
Thankfully, the team behind The Rings of Power cared a lot about the material they were adapting. Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay clearly knew what they’re doing, and reviews for The Rings of Power have been strong.
Adapting this material was something of a passion project for Bezos, who joked at his own expense that it’s “every showrunner’s dream to get notes on scripts and early cuts from the founder and executive chairman.“ He thanked Payne and McKay for “listening whenever it helped” and “ignoring” Bezos at the “right times.”
That they had that kind of creative freedom is encouraging. Ultimately, we’ll see how it all shakes out when the first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premiere on Prime Video on September 2.
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h/t The A.V. Club