Michelle Trachtenberg may soon posthumously receive recognition for her skills as a screenwriter in addition to her acting, Screen Rant reports. Best known for her roles in Harriet The Spy, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and Gossip Girl, Trachtenberg sadly passed away on February 26 at the age of 39, but it has recently been revealed that the actress had also been working on a screenplay before her death.
An adaptation of Jerry Oppenheimer’s book Toy Monster: The Big, Bad World of Mattel, the screenplay would follow the drama and turmoil between the toy company’s founders Ruth and Elliot Handler, and toy designer Jack Ryan. Trachtenberg had been collaborating with producer Casey Tebo and talent agent Jay Cohen, who are pitching the project to studios.
Tebo recently mentioned in an interview with People:
“The only scripts I remember staying with me…in recent memory were two: “Here Comes The Flood” by Simon Kinberg and “Toy Monster” around 2019. Because they were the two best, by a landslide. One of the issues with our industry is they will recognize someone like Simon as a great writer, but they will always look at Michelle as Harriet the Spy or Georgina Sparks. The truth is—Michelle was an incredible writer. But no one expects her to write like that. It’s about the struggle for credit, compensation, and recognition for success. Something Hollywood knows nothing about, I’m sure.”
The timing couldn’t be better for Toy Monster as Mattel itself has recently started branching out into movies, with Greta Gerwig’s Barbie grossing over a billion dollars in 2023. Adaptations of toys such as Barney, Masters of the Universe, and Matchbox are in development
Meanwhile, according to Tebo, their efforts have been fruitful as an angel investor has reached out to them.
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