Michelle Trachtenberg's 'sharp, biting' script written before her death was overlooked by studios, producer says

Michelle Trachtenberg wasn't just a great actress; she was a great writer too. But according to one producer, Hollywood wasn't interested in that side of the star, who died Feb. 26 at 39.

Casey Tebo recently told PEOPLE that Trachtenberg's boyfriend, Jay Cohen, "sent me a script she had written called Toy Monster," adding, "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."

Tebo previously noted that he had read Trachtenberg's script in a social media post on the day of her death, and indicated that he's currently trying to bring it to the screen. "I'm doing everything I can to get this movie made, we just need to find the right director, and I promise we will get it made for her," he wrote.

Related: Blake Lively, Chace Crawford, and more Gossip Girl alums mourn Michelle Trachtenberg after her death

Trachtenberg was known primarily for her work in front of the camera. Her first screen role, a single-episode spot on Law & Order, came when she was 6, and by 11 she had already landed one of her signature roles, the titular character in Harriet the Spy. The actress' sparkling intensity and comic verve led to even more indelible parts on series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl.

Though those roles paved the way for Trachtenberg's enduring popularity, Tebo suggested that they also foreclosed on some other paths. "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," he said.

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Tebo called Trachtenberg's script, an adaptation of Jerry Oppenheimer's Toy Monster: The Big, Bad World of Mattel, a "sharp biting dramedy about a maniac toy executive set in the 1950s."

That script would sync right up with the current culture, given the recent wave of titles examining the human stories behind high-profile brands and products, from Jerry Seinfeld's Unfrosted (Pop Tarts) to Eva Longoria's Flamin' Hot (Cheetos). The monumental success of Greta Gerwig's Barbie also gave the Mattel brand a level of cultural saturation it hadn't enjoyed in years.

"The truth is — Michelle was an incredible writer. But no one expects her to write like that," Tebo said. "[The script is] about the struggle for credit, compensation and recognition for success. Something Hollywood knows nothing about I'm sure."

Tebo also told the New York Post that the script "was being championed by a studio head, and they had two A-list directors they were going to," with Trachtenberg set "to play one of the minor roles, and she was adamant about [attaching] A-list directing and acting talent." Tebo said the project stalled when the executive attached to the project left the studio.

Related: Sarah Michelle Gellar, David Boreanaz, and more Buffy stars react to Michelle Trachtenberg's death

Trachtenberg did produce two projects over the course of her three-decade career: the 2015 web series Guidance and a prescient true-crime docuseries called Meet, Marry, Murder, which she also hosted.

Though Trachtenberg wasn't able to make a name for herself as a writer during her lifetime, Tebo has vowed to see her Toy Monster script through to production, telling the Post, "My last conversation with [Michelle] was sending her director names to consider."

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