Jacob Savage’s Journey in Hollywood
After completing his studies at Princeton University, Jacob Savage headed to Hollywood with aspirations of becoming a screenwriter. To support his dream, he took on various roles, including ticket scalping and SAT tutoring. He poured countless hours into his work, always feeling that his big break was just around the corner.
However, as opportunities frequently slipped away at the last moment, Savage began to grapple with a harsh realization: perhaps, he thought, his race was holding him back.
“There have been countless times when I was told, ‘We were considering you for a writing position, but we can’t because you’re white, and we have enough white people already,’” he shared.
In 2025, Savage caught a lot of eyes with his essay in Compact magazine titled “Lost Generation”. In this piece, he contended that aggressive diversity and inclusion initiatives in various industries, including Hollywood, are negatively impacting white millennial men by marginalizing them in hiring and advancement opportunities, regardless of their qualifications.
He noted that when he arrived in Los Angeles in 2011, white men comprised 48% of entry-level TV screenwriters. Fast forward to 2024, and that figure plummeted to just 11%. “This isn’t a gradual decline; it was a sudden stop,” he remarked.
Glenn Beck pointed out that hiring should ultimately come down to merit: “Talent is talent; funny is funny.” Savage echoed this sentiment, asserting that the disregard for merit is one contributing factor to Hollywood’s current struggles. He mentioned, “Many talented individuals have had their work released and yet haven’t seen success. This is likely a significant reason for Hollywood’s ongoing issues; they’re discarding a generation of talent.”
He also speculated that many Hollywood executives and showrunners aren’t entirely convinced that diversity mandates are beneficial. Instead, they might feel pressured to comply with them. “I doubt that most showrunners actively preferred not to hire the best candidates; many seem frustrated about it,” he noted.
This frustration appears to have evolved, as Savage shared a recent conversation with a showrunner who commented, “We’re back to the rules of 2012: you won’t face backlash for an all-white male writers’ room, but otherwise, hire whoever you want.”
While they may not revert to a completely indifferent approach, there seems to be a collective acknowledgment that the current approach has overshot. “There’s a sense that we’ve gone too far and ultimately, we just want to be profitable again,” he added.
For further insights, you can check out the video above.
