Oscar-winning “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies director Peter Jackson has weighed in on Amazon’s “The Lord of the Rings” TV series.
Appearing on the THR Awards Chatter podcast recently, Jackson revealed that Amazon Studios did originally ask him to be involved with its upcoming megabudget series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”.
They also apparently promised to send him scripts – then never contacted him again, effectively ‘ghosting’ him:
“They asked me if I wanted to be involved – [writer-producer Fran Walsh] and I – and I said, ‘That’s an impossible question to answer without seeing a script’. So they said, ‘As soon as we get the first couple [of] scripts, we’ll send them to you.’ And the scripts never showed up. That’s the last thing I heard, which is fine. No complaints at all.”
Jackson also emphasized he harbors no hard feelings toward Amazon’s series and is eager to watch it as a fan of the franchise:
“I’ll be watching it. I’m not the sort of guy who wishes ill will. Filmmaking is hard enough. If somebody makes a good film or TV show, it’s something to celebrate. The one thing I am looking forward to is actually seeing it as a perfectly neutral viewer.”
Amazon Studios responded to Jackson’s comments with a statement:
“In pursuing the rights for our show, we were obliged to keep the series distinct and separate from the films. We have the utmost respect for Peter Jackson and The Lord of The Rings films and are thrilled that he is looking forward to watching The Rings of Power.”
The statement rings true as while both Amazon and showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay have expressed their high regard for Jackson, there are legal concerns that requires keeping the Warner-owned films and the Amazon-owned series separate.
Sources for the trade also say the estate of author JRR Tolkien was against having Jackson on board. Said estate had no involvement with his films by him, and Christopher Tolkien has previously slammed the trilogy in the press. However, the estate is involved with the series.
Jackson admits a movie studio wouldn’t greenlight his original trilogy today, saying: “Probably not. Not with a director like me and a studio that would put its money on the line for three movies.”
“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” premieres on Prime Video on September 2nd. Check out a recent behind-the-scenes featurette for it below.
Source: THR