The transmogrification of the classic monster characters and archetypes from chilling horror tales to fodder for younger audiences took a step further in 2010 when Mattel launched a toy line called Monster High. The concept found the teenage children of Dracula, Frankenstein’s creature and the rest dealing with high school issues, and Universal is looking to turn it into a live-action film. Now Gossip Girl creative duo Josh Schwartz and Stephenie Savage are writing the latest draft of the scrip{
In actual fact, M****onster High as a movie concept goes back to before the launch of the toys, and had Alfred Gough and Miles Millar crafting a story around the characters that would work as a musical. The tuneful element has been dropped, and now the likes of Frankie Stein, Clawdeen Wolf, Draculaura, Cleo de Nile and Lagoona Blue will have to confront the trials and tribulations of teenage life without the ability to break into song, Glee-style, every few minutes. Still, they do come with a built in audience: despite a relatively short time on shelves, the toy brand now generates more money annually than Barbie.
Schwartz most recently produced and directed Halloween comedy Fun Size, but he and Savage are still best known for their work on TV, including Chuck, The O.C. and The Carrie Diaries.