I've just finished my first draft of my script and it has come in at about 85 pages. I've tried to keep dialogue short and snappy. I've tried to enter scenes late and leave them early. I've tried to only include scenes that build up for an effective closing scene. Feedback I've received has usually...
Expand post
@Peter- Christmas in July is a fun movie. Watched it many times with my family as a kid. Didn't realize it was that short!
I agree with everybody who has stated that 85 pages is enough. I assume you ask your question in regards to sending the script out to producers/agents/managers, wondering if the gatekeepers will flip...
Expand commentI agree with everybody who has stated that 85 pages is enough. I assume you ask your question in regards to sending the script out to producers/agents/managers, wondering if the gatekeepers will flip to the last page and dismiss your work as amateurish if it's shorter than 90 pages. I've wondered the same thing. I'm sure there are gatekeepers who will, indeed, blow the script off if it is less than 90 pages, just like they would if it was longer than 120 pages. Such is the game. You could add some "fluff" to get the page count up, or you could trust your story instincts and leave it as-is. I'd hedge my bet on the latter. And we all need to remember that an 85-page script doesn't always translate to an 85-minute movie. It's a good baseline, but there are too many factors in play to blanket ourselves in the 1-page = 1-minute screenplay rule. If I remember correctly, the screenplay for "127 Hours" was around 85 pages and the movie was 90-some minutes. And we all know that if Aaron Sorkin wrote an 85 page script, the movie would be about 70 minutes, right? ;)
1 person likes this
It's fine as long as one of the pages says someone fights and a lot of shit blows up for the next 20-25 minutes.
1 person likes this
Also, most indie producers don't want a long script. It takes longer to shoot, and costs more money. Your page count is fine.
I've had this insecurity about the page count too. I think it's partially why I received such negative reviews from ScriptHop's Gauntlet (great service by the way, check it out if you haven't already)...
Expand commentI've had this insecurity about the page count too. I think it's partially why I received such negative reviews from ScriptHop's Gauntlet (great service by the way, check it out if you haven't already). I felt like it needed to be 90 pages, so I stretched it out longer than it needed to be which threw off the pacing.