1 Shakespeare: {reading e-mail at his desk in the office} Oh wow! I knew posting my stories to the net would pay off!
2 Shakespeare: {going to Ophelia's desk} Hey Ophelia, good news. I've been asked to write a new novelisation of a popular movie series!
3 Ophelia: Oooh, that's great Will! What movies?
4 Shakespeare: The Lord of the Rings.

I for one was surprised they didn't get someone to do this. Terry Brooks would have done a good job. He has a lot of experience at rewriting Tolkien.

For those not in the know, Terry Brooks is the author of the somewhat infamous Sword of Shannara series of fantasy novels. Many critics have pointed out the extreme closeness of the parallels between this work and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. I read the series myself when I was younger, and even without knowing this criticism at the time I couldn't shake the feeling that it was just too much like Lord of the Rings.

While making use of elements of older works in newer creative works is a well-worn and respected method, you can take it too far if you're not careful.