NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Some of the most in the movie business are arriving in Hollywood already experts at entertaining audiences and going viral.
The 鈥� both by 20-something YouTubers-turned-filmmakers 鈥� has put a new spotlight on an increasingly well-trod path to the director’s chair.
Hollywood executives are scouring platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram to find the next Steven Spielberg. There, young aspiring filmmakers are not only working on their craft but building a relationship with audiences that can transfer to the box office.
鈥淭hese filmmakers are in a dialogue with their audience from the word 鈥楪o鈥�. Their subscribers have direct input in each iteration of these things,鈥� Mike De Luca, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-chair, said at a conference last month. 鈥淏y the time you get to the movie, they鈥檝e had a billion test screenings.鈥�
鈥淥bsession鈥� and 鈥淏ackrooms鈥� aren’t the first of their kind. Issa Rae and Bo Burnham are among those who began on YouTube. But more and more of today’s indie filmmakers began online. Here are some of the digital creators who have already broken through, and some who may soon.
Kane Parsons
Known online as 鈥淜ane Pixels,鈥� the 20-year-old Parsons is the director of the A24 horror hit 鈥淏ackrooms.鈥� The Petaluma, California, native began publishing videos online at the age of 9. His video series based on the creepypasta Backrooms meme led to his feature film debut, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve. It’s made $250 million worldwide at the box office. A sequel is already in development.
Curry Barker
The 26-year-old Barker, who grew up in Mobile, Alabama, attended film school in Los Angeles for a year before he began making videos for a YouTube sketch series and eventually the horror short 鈥淭he Chair鈥� and a found-footage horror film made for $800, 鈥淢ilk & Serial.鈥� After Tea Shop Productions saw 鈥淭he Chair,鈥� the company financed Barker’s $750,000 production of 鈥淥bsession.鈥� After a premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, Focus Features acquired it for $15 million. It’s expected to soon pass $300 million worldwide in ticket sales. Barker has already made his next film, 鈥淎nything But Ghosts,鈥� for Blumhouse Productions, and A24 has enlisted him for a reboot of 鈥淭he Texas Chainsaw Massacre.鈥�
Markiplier
The 36-year-old Markiplier, or Mark Fischbach, became popular on YouTube for his playthrough videos of indie video games. With more than 38 million subscribers, he created series and podcasts before making his directorial debut earlier this year with 鈥淚ron Lung.鈥� He also wrote and edited the sci-fi horror film based on a 2022 video game. Made for less than $5 million and self-distributed, 鈥淚ron Lung鈥� grossed more than $50 million.
Jordan Firstman
The 34-year-old Firstman, who grew up in New Jersey, first broke through with a series of short skits on Instagram Live posted during the pandemic. A comedian, writer and actor, Firstman carved out a more traditional path to filmmaking. He notably co-starred in the 2025 HBO series 鈥淚 Love LA鈥� and was a consulting producer on the animated series 鈥淏ig Mouth.鈥� But in May this year, Firstman made his directorial debut with 鈥淐lub Kid鈥� at the Cannes Film Festival. The film, starring Firstman as a gay nightclub promoter who discovers he has a son, was a breakout hit at the festival. After a bidding war, A24 acquired it for $17 million.
Dylan Clark
Clark, a north Virginia native, has been posting horror shorts on YouTube for the last eight years. Now, he’s turning the most popular of those, 鈥淧ortrait of God,鈥� into a feature, with Jordan Peele and Sam Raimi producing. Clark has also been tapped by Lionsgate and Blumhouse to direct a new 鈥淭he Blair Witch Project.鈥�
Sam Evenson
In April, Neon announced that Evenson will direct a feature adaptation of his viral 2014 12-minute short 鈥淢ora.鈥� The short, which has been watched by nearly 5 million on Evenson’s YouTube channel, Grimoire Horror, is about a struggling artist’s search for a bloody, malformed woman who appears in AI-generated images. Roy Lee, producer of 鈥淲eapons,鈥� is producing. It will mark Evenson’s directorial debut, though he has many visual effects credits, including 鈥淒une: Part Two鈥� and 鈥淭he Last of Us.鈥�
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