Michelle Trachtenberg, who died on February 26th in New York, was not only a talented performer but also a successful writer.
Prior to her sudden death the Gossip Girl alum was working on a screenplay for a film titled Toy Monster based on Jerry Oppenheimer’s book of the same name.
Casey Tebo, the producer who was attached to the project, told People magazine about how passionate the 17 Again actress was for the film.
“I don’t remember when, but my dear friend Jay Cohen (Michelle’s boyfriend) sent me a script she had written called TOY MONSTER,” he said.
“The only scripts I remember staying with me like that 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.”
However, Tebo noticed that while Kinberg’s screenplay sold for around seven figures, Trachtenberg’s script remained stagnant.
Slamming Hollywood for typecasting he said, “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,” he continued.
“It’s about the struggle for credit, compensation and recognition for success. Something Hollywood knows nothing about I’m sure.”
About making of the film the producer shared that they are piecing the scenes together to get it “made for Michelle.”
