Is a studio screenplay length different?

[victortiti89]

I watched a video about screenwriting and the person there said you should write 3 screenplays, one for the television, one for a low budget, which he said should be between 90-120 pages and one for studios(he calls them " studio feature screenplays), which should be between 120 and 140 pages long. On other sites, I've read that screenplays should never be longer than 120 pages. Is this page count different when it comes to movie studios, or do the same rules apply? In other words, was the speaker right with this statement? Thank you for reading and answering!

 

[directorik]

I watched a video about screenwriting and the person there said you should write 3 screenplays, one for the television, one for a low budget, which he said should be between 90-120 pages and one for studios(he calls them " studio feature screenplays), which should be between 120 and 140 pages long. On other sites, I've read that screenplays should never be longer than 120 pages. Is this page count different when it comes to movie studios, or do the same rules apply? In other words, was the speaker right with this statement? Thank you for reading and answering!

How about a link to the video you watched. I suspect you misunderstood the
overall point and fell into minutia.

In general a writer looking for a career should have several excellent writing
samples. A specific page count is not necessary. Without seeing the video I
suspect he didn't mean a specific page count. It is good advice to have a range
of samples. TV episodes, a low budget screenplay, a higher budget one.; all
good suggestions. And in general a low budget script will be in the 90 page
range and a big budget script will be in the 120 page range. Five excellent
writing samples are better than three. That doesn't mean all writers need
five - it means five shows more range than three.

Give us a link to the video, okay?

 

[victortiti89]

@directorik: Thank you for your reply! Here is the link to this video:
http://www.webfilmschool.com/video/WFS07.htm

 

[directorik]

I didn't even need to look at it. I know Simens work. But I did.

You misunderstood his overall point and focused on page count.
And you misquoted him. He said low budget is 90 to 100 pages.
Pretty typical. And good advice.

 

[victortiti89]

I didn't even need to look at it. I know Simens work. But I did.

You misunderstood his overall point and focused on page count.
And you misquoted him. He said low budget is 90 to 100 pages.
Pretty typical. And good advice.

I apologize if it seemed like I was just focusing on a minor information from this video, but the reason I started this thread was that this was indeed something new for me and wanted to know if this is right... You're right, he did say that low budget features are between 90-120 pages long! I was just writing/asking about the part were he said/wrote on screen about the third type of screenplay a writer should have, which is the screenplay for studios and should be between 120-140 pages in length....

 

[directorik]

I apologize if it seemed like I was just focusing on a minor information from this video,

No need to apologize. I'm just suggesting you don't focus on
page count. I'm suggesting that the page count wasn't Simens
point - that it was a range to illustrate the point not what a
writer "should" write. I'm just suggesting you pay attention to the
broader point of that video; a writer should have several scripts
of different types when looking for an agent. The the exact number
of scripts, the exact type and the exact page count isn't important.

You're right, he did say that low budget features are between 90-120 pages long!

But he didn't. He said they should be between 90 and 100 pages.

But bottom line; Simens is correct. If you have exactly what he suggests
in that page count range it's a good thing for a writer.

 

[time2focus]

Just watched the video. He speeds through all the information he wants to get across, but I think he's just saying write these 3 types of scripts, the third type being for a film with a little more spectacle that naturally requires a big budget. Some studio films are things that could have been made on a smaller budget (with less known actors) so I don't think all studio films even fall in his third category.

In general, I try to avoid giving too much weight to specifics like page count when it is discussed by one person. The 90 - 120 expectation is repeated by many writers, producers, etc, especially as advice to us newbies just getting our feet wet. So that holds a lot of merit in my opinion. I disagree with his suggestion that a big blockbuster high budget film should be between 120 - 140 pages. I think it may very well be but I do think it is possible to have a very strong spectacle film written under 120 pages. So overall, I wouldn't get too hung up on it.

Most people give the exception to 90 - 120 pages as some big budget film like a historical piece, big action film, etc so he is kind of just supporting that general concept.

 

[Adeimantus]

Try to keep your page count between 90 and 120 pages. That's all you need to worry about as a beginning writer. The most important thing is that it's just long enough to tell your story well, and not a page longer. Chances are you aren't a Soderbergh who can get a 6 hour biopic on Che Guevara funded.