Is 115 Pages too long for a Spec Comedy/Drama Script?

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  • #16
    Re: Is 115 Pages too long for a Spec Comedy/Drama Script?

    After a fair debate not long ago on DDP, I'm of the opinion that it's not the number of pages as much as what's on those pages.

    If the majority of the pages are overwritten, then 115 could be too long. You want it to be a 'good' read and not a chore.

    If your pages are tight and relevant, then 115 is fine.


    Best,
    FA4
    "Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy b/c you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say." -- Edward Snowden

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    • #17
      Re: Is 115 Pages too long for a Spec Comedy/Drama Script?

      Thanks for your input everyone and again I apologize for creating another "length" thread.

      Anyway I made a couple of small in the last week and got it down to 114 and think it plays better now and it's not just shorter for the sake of being shorter. After reading it a few times, everything in the script is tight and relevant as mentioned so I feel good about it.

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      • #18
        Re: Is 115 Pages too long for a Spec Comedy/Drama Script?

        114 not 115? Well that makes all the difference.
        M.A.G.A.

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        • #19
          Re: Is 115 Pages too long for a Spec Comedy/Drama Script?

          114 now? Did you change genres?

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          • #20
            Re: Is 115 Pages too long for a Spec Comedy/Drama Script?

            Pick a typical page from it and paste it into this thread (De-identify it if you're paranoid that way). There's enough people here who've read enough screenplays that I'm sure you'll get opinions on whether your writing style can be tightened up.

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            • #21
              Re: Is 115 Pages too long for a Spec Comedy/Drama Script?

              @ Howie-- That's actually a great recommendation.

              When I was reading at Sony I never once checked a page length before reading. IMO I think that is a myth. Producers would have me read 350 page books in a day. Once it leaves hands of the intern though, I have no idea. That's just my experience.

              If it's bad people won't read past page 30. If it's good they will finish it.

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              • #22
                Re: Is 115 Pages too long for a Spec Comedy/Drama Script?

                try very hard to keep it under 110. if its a comedy especially.
                if you deliver a tight comedy at 100 you will be adored.

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                • #23
                  Re: Is 115 Pages too long for a Spec Comedy/Drama Script?

                  A script should be exactly as long as it needs to be, and no longer. The first question: Is it? The second question: Is it really? The problem is that most developing writers think their drafts are fit and trim but they don't yet have the experience to spot all the belly fat and extra flab here are there that cumulatively slows it down like an overweight athlete.

                  Does every action, image, and piece of dialogue do something? That is, does everything seen or heard act to advance the story by providing the audience with information that is both NEW and RELEVANT? Does every scene serve an essential function without which the story cannot do without? Are you missing out on quicker ways to communicate the same story information? Can the information contained in two pages of dialogue work be given just as well through a quarter page of action? Comedy, of course, is usually more verbose, but even during the comedy you must make sure its action is working to move things forward, not just putting everything on pause to do some stand-up routine that leads nowhere. Comedy must be used as a storytelling tool, not a diversion.

                  Maybe your script is indeed as svelte as it can possibly be at 115. Maybe it should be only 90. But don't cut just for the sake of cutting because you are told that shorter is better. You might be cutting out something the story needs. Cut the fat, not the muscle and bone.
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