WME Signs Charlie Schwan, ‘Bitter Bitter’ In Works With Scott Derrickson

EXCLUSIVE: Horror writer and director Charlie Schwan has inked with WME for representation in all areas.

At the same time, we have learned that his latest SXSW winning short Harvester is being turned into a feature film at Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill’s production company, Crooked Highway. 

Crooked Highway’s most recent film, Black Phone 2, via Universal and Blumhouse, has been one of the few hits at the autumn box office, grossing over $71M stateside and $123M worldwide.

Harvester played SXSW this past year taking home the Jury Award for Best Texas short. The short follows Eva, a desperate woman and her companion, as they bring a bound man to an abandoned house, where they summon a mythical creature. Their dark bargain promises a chance to revisit the past, but the price may be higher than they imagined.

The blurb for Bitter Bitter is as follows: On the fringe of an isolated logging town, a grieving teen is drawn to an ancient creature that opens a window to the lost, but with each vision, a hunger grows, gnawing from within, and risks opening the door to something darker…

Schwan is a Texas-born filmmaker. During his days at University of Texas at Austin, he helmed his first short, The Goodnight Show, which went on to premiere at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.

After making the move to Los Angeles, Schwan dove into the world of horror headfirst, directing Death Snot (2022) and Mr. Sunshine (2023), both of which played at festivals such as Palm Springs, Beyond Fest, Telluride Horror Show, and FilmQuest.

In addition to developing feature genre stories, Schwan is one of the founders of Silverlake Scream Show, an annual horror anthology screening event that champions emerging genre filmmakers. 

Schwan is also managed by Bash Entertainment.