Horror Filmmaker J. Zachary Thurman Signs With WME

Horror filmmaker J. Zachary Thurman has signed with WME, one of Hollywood's largest talent agencies, to represent him in all areas. Deadline reported the signing on 10 November 2026. Representation in all areas means the agency will handle his work across film, television and other deals.

Thurman's path to that point has run through short films. His short It Helps premiered at Fantastic Fest, the Austin festival devoted to genre films, and went on to win Best Short at Screamfest. It also took the Audience Award for Best International Short Film at Toronto After Dark, a festival in Toronto focused on horror and cult cinema.

Those wins have opened doors to longer work. Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill's production company, Crooked Highway, is set to produce a feature adaptation of It Helps. Thurman is attached to write and direct it. Attached means he has signed on to the project, but filming has not been announced.

He is also attached to direct CRUSH, a horror script by Michael Jones that landed on the 2024 Black List. The Black List is an annual survey of well-regarded screenplays that have not yet been made, voted on by industry executives. Walter Hamada of the production company 18Hz is producing CRUSH, and Nick Romano is executive producing.

Thurman's short Finley is a horror-comedy about a demonic puppet who keeps failing to kill the college students who live in his home. It has drawn more than 18 million views on YouTube. He is developing a feature version of it.

His short The Deep End debuted on Tubi, the free, ad-supported streaming service, as part of Bite Size Terror. That horror anthology series is executive produced by Peter Rice.

Thurman continues to be managed by Magnolia Entertainment, and he is represented by the law firm Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum Matlof and Fishman. The WME deal adds a major agency to that group, and it means the agency will pitch his projects to studios, streamers and producers as the feature plans move forward.

For a filmmaker, the sequence is familiar. A short gets noticed at a festival, a script gets a spot on a respected list, and an agency and producers come calling. Each step still depends on financing, scheduling and a studio or buyer saying yes, and none of the feature projects listed here has a release date.