‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’: Jeff Bezos’ Son Begged Him Not to ‘Eff This Up’
TL;DR:
- Jeff Bezos has been a Lord of the Rings fan since his teenage years.
- When it came to The Rings of Power, Jeff Bezos’ son begged him not to “eff this up.”
- Longtime J.R.R. Tolkien fans have had similar reservations about the Amazon show.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power just made its debut on Prime Video, and the much-anticipated Amazon prequel is already dividing fans. With J.R.R. Tolkien’s works and the original Lord of the Rings trilogy amassing such a dedicated following, it’s no surprise viewers have high standards for this new addition to the franchise. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his kids are big Lord of the Rings fans, too — and according to Bezos, his son pressured him to get The Rings of Power right.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is a big ‘Lord of the Rings’ fan
Ahead of the show’s streaming release on Prime Video, Amazon held a world premiere for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. During the London-based event, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos gave a touching speech about the prequel series. Per Variety, he admitted he’s been a Lord of the Rings fan for years.
“My grandfather’s the one who introduced me to Tolkien,” Bezos revealed. “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.”
Bezos also shared that he’s passed his love of J.R.R. Tolkien on to his kids — something he was reminded of when Amazon acquired the rights to The Rings of Power. Apparently, his son had concerns about whether or not the show would do the source material justice.
Jeff Bezos’ son responded to ‘The Rings of Power’ by saying ‘don’t eff this up’
That’s right, Jeff Bezos’ son approached him after Amazon snagged the rights to The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. And according to Amazon’s founder, he asked that the company refrain from messing things up:
“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.”
Fortunately, it seems the higher-ups at Amazon understand the importance of doing right by J.R.R. Tolkien’s works — and those who are fans of it.
“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,” Bezos continued.
Hopefully, that will come as a relief to other diehard Tolkien fans with similar reservations.
Longtime J.R.R. Tolkien fans had similar concerns over ‘The Rings of Power’
Jeff Bezos’ son may have been able to express his concerns about The Rings of Power to the man behind the curtain at Amazon. However, he’s far from the only diehard J.R.R. Tolkien fan to voice such reservations.
Ahead of The Rings of Power‘s debut, many took to sites like Twitter and Reddit to wonder if the prequel would do right by Tolkien’s vision. With the series adding original characters and storylines, longtime fans worried it may move too far away from his writings. Sadly, some of that skepticism stems from racist reactions to diverse casting. But others simply weren’t sure where Amazon would take the franchise — and that’s enough to leave fans on edge.
Of course, viewers — and Bezos’ kids — can now judge The Rings of Power for themselves.
The first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power are now available on Prime Video.
