United Kingdom, March 3 -- Michelle Trachtenberg is said to have been close to securing a deal for a screenplay she had been shopping around to studios for years before her death.

Director and producer Casey Tebo said the late actress had written one of the best scripts he had ever read - 'Toy Monster', based on the book of the same name - and they had been on the brink of landing studio backing in the weeks before she died, according to TMZ.

The outlet said the late 38-year-old actress' screenplay tells the story of Jack Ryan, an engineer who left a job designing missiles for the Pentagon during the Cold War to become the chief engineer at Mattel, where he helped create the Barbie doll, Chatty Cathy and Hot Wheels.

Casey told TMZ Jack...