Jon Savitt. Photo: Jon Savitt
A local mentorship program helps emerging creatives take flight.
Jon Savitt enjoys making people laugh, and it’s a feeling that fuels the award-winning comedy writer and screenwriter to pursue a creative career. “When you say something funny and someone reacts to it in a positive way, there’s no better feeling than that,” says the Minnetonka resident. While feeding his creative pursuits, he hopes to inspire others.
Wanting to live in an area with access to local lakes, family and full of community spirit, Savitt and his wife, Maggie Pendleton, returned in December to Minnesota from Denver. With him, Savitt brought a healthy dose of writing experience. His work has been featured on online comedy and entertainment brands CollegeHumor, Funny or Die and Vulture; as well as news outlets, such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time and more.
The writer graduated from St. Louis Park High School in 2010 and grew up a few doors down from where filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen once lived. He jokes that just breathing the same air the Coens once did helped spark his interest in comedy. “From a young age, I was hit in the face with these pioneers of Minnesota art and creativity,” Savitt says. “Minnesota is very much steeped into who I am as a person and a writer.”
And that connection is quite possibly why he’s returned to launch The Flyover Writers’ Room, a free mentorship program to help emerging Minnesota screenwriters and comedy writers. “It’s the kind of thing I wish I had growing up,” Savitt says. “I didn’t have anyone to ask for pointers and didn’t know any working screenwriters, so it felt very abstract and distant.”
“I’m trying to break down barriers that make it seem impossible to make a career of being a writer and a filmmaker if you don’t live in New York or Los Angeles,” he says. “As I coach and mentor people, I want to encourage people to look at all paths.”
The Flyover Writers’ Room aims to be accessible and flexible. Savitt says some participants join group calls to share ideas while others work independently with Savitt to share their scripts, learn how to pitch themselves, build a website or simply find out what the next steps are in the industry.
Savitt wants to shorten the learning curve for those pursuing the path he once navigated. He wants to show people that geography isn’t the barrier to breaking into the industry, hesitation is. “We often negotiate ourselves out of something before we even try it,” he says. “Let’s talk about Plan A and explore it before we talk ourselves out of it. Just go for it, and do the best you can.”
As Savitt settles into life back in Minnesota, he says inspiration is all around him, including the quirky Facebook Marketplace interactions that keep feeding him material. “I can’t go anywhere without getting a new idea,” he says. And now, he hopes that will be the case for the next generation of Minnesota comedy writers.
Coming Attractions
Jon Savitt is busy prepping for a film coming out in October. Creep it Real is a genre-blending thriller produced by Barbed Wire Films and features actress Adrienne King, known for her role in Friday the 13th. The project will be available on streaming platforms.
In addition, Savitt sold another feature script, a quirky horror-comedy called The Overnight, which is set to go into production soon. He is also in development stages with a heartwarming comedy that will be shot in Minnesota, standing behind his message that geography shouldn’t keep anyone out of the spotlight.
Jon Savitt
Instagram: @savitt_jon
