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When Amazon first began working on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Jeff Bezos' son warned him not to "eff this up," he told the audience at a screening for the new Amazon Prime Video series on Tuesday.
The first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premiered on Tuesday night in London, England, at the Odeon Luxe cinema in Leicester Square, and Bezos told the audience that his family's love of The Lord of the Rings put pressure on Amazon when it began working on the show.
"My grandfather's the one who introduced me to Tolkien," Bezos said, according to Variety. "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. 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.' And he was right. We know that this world is important to so many people, we know it's a privilege to work inside this world, and we know it's a big responsibility."
Amazon's head thanked the writers and showrunners Patrick McKay and John D. Payne for ignoring his initial notes on the show.
"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," Bezos 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."
The audience at Tuesday night's screening included Michael Tolkien, grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings books, Amazon Studio boss Jennifer Salke, head of television Vernon Sanders, Minnie Driver, Kaya Scodelario, the cast of the show, press and even some lucky fans who reportedly dressed in full Middle Earth cosplay.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will take place thousands of years before the events of The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit.
The new show is highly anticipated by fans of the original legendary trilogy, and the first two episodes of The Rings of Power will be given a theatrical release for one day only on August 31. The episodes will be streamed on Amazon on September 2.
Newsweek reached out to a representative for Amazon Studios for additional comment.
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Emma Mayer is a Newsweek Culture Writer based in Wyoming. Her focus is reporting on celebrities, books, movies, and music. ... Read more