Your first draft may come in at 140 pages. That’s what my last spec landed at, “The Greatest Invention of Lazarus McFarren”. Subsequent re-writes whacked it down to 120.
Or, it may come in at 198 pages (!), like a novel adaptation I did with co-writer Scott Holmgren (which we trimmed to 135 by its fifth draft).
But: if you are writing a feature screenplay, what should you really shoot for, especially if you are trying to sell it?
Way back when, the rule was that a 75-minute film was considered “Feature Length”. This may get you into festivals if you are an independent producer and aren’t targeting a mainstream release. But if you turn in a 75-page screenplay to a producer, agent, or manager, they will surely think your story is under-developed.
Syd Field, author of the classic book “Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting” (1979), suggests 120 pages, and uses that number as the basis of his paradigm.
But times have changed. Richard Walter, in his book, “Screenwriting: The Art, Craft, and Business of Film and Television Writing” (1988), suggests an aim of 110 pages.
In fact, Comedian/Actor/Writer Steve Martin has said that he targets less than 100 pages for his scripts. And Diablo Cody’s Oscar-winning “Juno” came in at just 94 pages!!
Make it tight; make every scene and every line COUNT.
The general perception “out there” is that if you are a new writer and your script is over 120 pages, you haven’t cut enough material. If you are less than 95, you haven’t developed your story enough. (Diablo Cody is the exception, not the rule).
So Richard Walter’s ideal of 110 pages seems about perfect. That’s what I shoot for in my work, give or take. I think it’s the perfect guideline.
As a reference, here are the page counts for a number of mainstream scripts from the last decade:
GLADIATOR (David Franzoni and John Logan): 105
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (Michael Arndt): 114
BABEL (Guillermo Arriaga): 123
CASINO ROYALE (Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Paul Haggis): 116
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: (Aline Brosh McKenna): 116
STRANGER THAN FICTION (Zach Helm): 119
MICHAEL CLAYTON (Tony Gilroy): 129
OCEANS 13 (Brian Koppelman and David Levian): 127
GEORGIA RULE (Mark Andrus): 120
NIM’S ISLAND (Jennifer Flacket): 108
MILLION DOLLAR BABY (Paul Haggis): 119
CHICAGO (Bob Fosse): 127
LOST IN TRANSLATION (Sophia Coppola): 117
THE DARJEELING LIMITED (Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, and Jason Schwartzman): 103
GRAN TORINO: (Nick Schenk): 118
So…. What’s you page count?
Or, it may come in at 198 pages (!), like a novel adaptation I did with co-writer Scott Holmgren (which we trimmed to 135 by its fifth draft).
But: if you are writing a feature screenplay, what should you really shoot for, especially if you are trying to sell it?
Way back when, the rule was that a 75-minute film was considered “Feature Length”. This may get you into festivals if you are an independent producer and aren’t targeting a mainstream release. But if you turn in a 75-page screenplay to a producer, agent, or manager, they will surely think your story is under-developed.
Syd Field, author of the classic book “Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting” (1979), suggests 120 pages, and uses that number as the basis of his paradigm.
But times have changed. Richard Walter, in his book, “Screenwriting: The Art, Craft, and Business of Film and Television Writing” (1988), suggests an aim of 110 pages.
In fact, Comedian/Actor/Writer Steve Martin has said that he targets less than 100 pages for his scripts. And Diablo Cody’s Oscar-winning “Juno” came in at just 94 pages!!
Make it tight; make every scene and every line COUNT.
The general perception “out there” is that if you are a new writer and your script is over 120 pages, you haven’t cut enough material. If you are less than 95, you haven’t developed your story enough. (Diablo Cody is the exception, not the rule).
So Richard Walter’s ideal of 110 pages seems about perfect. That’s what I shoot for in my work, give or take. I think it’s the perfect guideline.
As a reference, here are the page counts for a number of mainstream scripts from the last decade:
GLADIATOR (David Franzoni and John Logan): 105
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (Michael Arndt): 114
BABEL (Guillermo Arriaga): 123
CASINO ROYALE (Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Paul Haggis): 116
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: (Aline Brosh McKenna): 116
STRANGER THAN FICTION (Zach Helm): 119
MICHAEL CLAYTON (Tony Gilroy): 129
OCEANS 13 (Brian Koppelman and David Levian): 127
GEORGIA RULE (Mark Andrus): 120
NIM’S ISLAND (Jennifer Flacket): 108
MILLION DOLLAR BABY (Paul Haggis): 119
CHICAGO (Bob Fosse): 127
LOST IN TRANSLATION (Sophia Coppola): 117
THE DARJEELING LIMITED (Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, and Jason Schwartzman): 103
GRAN TORINO: (Nick Schenk): 118
So…. What’s you page count?
I target 100 and usually end up between 105 and 110. Current script - Original target 100 pages, Actual 109 pages.
Posted by: Katie Ostreko | 09/29/2009 at 06:14 AM