In a surprise appearance at the Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premiere, Jeff Bezos shared the advice his son gave him regarding the show: “Don't f*ck it up.”
As reported by Deadline, the Founder and Executive Chairman of Amazon showed up unexpectedly to the Lord of the Rings series' premiere in Leicester Square, London. There, Bezos gave a short speech, joking in part, “Every showrunners’ dream is to get notes on early scripts and cuts from the Executive Chairman, they just love that." He went on, “I want 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 also expressed his support for Patrick McKay and J. D. Payne, whose appointment as Lord of the Rings series showrunners aroused skepticism. The show will mark the first major production credit for McKay and Payne, other than an uncredited role writing for Star Trek Beyond, and some have expressed worry over their seeming lack of experience. According to Bezos, however, “one of the best decisions we made was to bet on this relatively unknown team because we saw something special.” Before concluding his toast, Bezos shared some words of wisdom from his son. “My kid is a huge Tolkien fan and after Amazon got involved he came up to me, looked me in the eye and said ‘Dad, please don’t f*ck this up.’”
In reality, this story captures the general mood of fans quite well. Amazon has a lot of pressure on its shoulders. Their promise to deliver a large-scale Lord of the Rings television show, based on material from outside the main book series that will be brand new to most viewers, is extremely ambitious. Add to this the boast that it will be the most expensive television series ever made, with the distribution rights, production budget, and marketing just for the first season alone likely adding up to almost $500 million. For Lord of the Rings fans, this sounds like a dream.
For Amazon, however, it could easily turn into a nightmare. With a cost that exceeds most blockbuster films, The Rings of Power will need to be a gargantuan success in order to make the company a single dime. Furthermore, it is set to air its first episode on September 1st, putting it in competition with HBO's own fantasy prequel mega-series, House of the Dragon. For any other property, directly competing with a Game of Thrones series is sure financial suicide.
Indeed, House of the Dragon episode 1 shattered records as HBO's most-watched premiere of all time, and attracted even more viewers for its second episode. If anyone can match up against Game of Thrones, however, it's The Lord of the Rings, which author George R. R. Martin drew heavy inspiration from.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres on Amazon Prime Video on September 1.
Source: Deadline