Jeff Bezos: ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ showrunners ignored my notes
Jeff Bezos made a surprise appearance at “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” global premiere last night — and thanked the showrunners for ignoring his notes on the series.
The Amazon founder traveled to London’s Leicester Square for the premiere of the big-budget TV show in a move to establish its importance to the company.
Bezos, 58, honored showrunners Patrick McKay and John D. Payne while introducing the first two episodes of the series.
“Every showrunner’s dream — and I mean every showrunner — their dream is to get notes on scripts and early cuts from the founder and executive chairman,” the Amazon boss joked. “They loved that. I need to thank you both for listening whenever it helped, but mostly I need to thank you for ignoring me at exactly the right times.”
Bezos admitted some people “questioned the choice” of McKay and Payne since they don’t have a profile of major credits, but expressed his gratitude that they were ultimately chosen.
“One of the best decisions we made was to bet on this relatively unknown team. Some people even questioned our choice. But we saw something special,” Bezos said.
“J.D., Patrick, thank you for taking this on and putting your whole selves into it. Everybody here in this audience, you are all about to see that we made the right choice,” he continued.
Bezos — who was introduced to the books by J.R.R. Tolkien by his grandfather — is a self-proclaimed “Lord of the Rings” fan, and has passed his love onto his children.
“My grandfather’s the one who introduced me to Tolkien,” said Bezos. “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.”
“My kids have become Tolkien fans as well. In fact, one of my boys, I think, approaches the level of a Tolkien scholar — he knows so much about this universe,” he continued.
Bezos’ son has become so invested in the “Lord of the Rings” world that he even offered his dad some advice.
“He looked me in the eyes, very sincerely, and he said: ‘Dad, please don’t eff this up,’ ” Bezos shared.
Bezos acknowledged what a privilege it is to work on “Lord of the Rings” and how big of a responsibility it is for the fans.
He ended his speech on a high note with a classic Tolkien quote, saying, “Not all those who wander are lost.”
Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke thanked Bezos for “starting this journey many moons ago,” as well as the cast and crew and the Tolkien estate “for their trust and partnership.”
The series is set thousands of years before the original films and features new, diverse characters that will modernize the series.
“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” series premieres on Amazon Prime Video on Sept. 2.
