Like most of you, I've more or less internalized the age-old saw that 1 page = 1 minute of screen time. As such, the conventional wisdom goes that there are rough limits to the amount of pages a genre spec realistically oughta have, especially if you're shopping it.
That being, it's usually maintained that comedies are probably best capped at 90, and dramas had better really be something special if they go anywhere near (or, God forbid - OVER) 120. Of course, there are a lot of opinions on that, but these rough ideas are still pretty widely-held.
However...In checking out the current listings at my local multiplex, it certainly seems as though there may just be a fair bit of page-bloat going on in some of these produced pieces.
Observe:
The Lone Ranger - 149 min
The Heat - 117 min
Pacific Rim - 131 min
White House Down - 137 min
Man of Steel - 143 min
Now, throwing out Tonto and Superman (which we obviously know are property pieces), we have three ostensibly original specs there in the middle. And every single one of 'em pushes the "page count" equation to limits most of us would be reluctant to, given their respective genres.
Total disclosure: The only one of the middle three I've seen is "The Heat." And while I enjoyed it, at one point I remember thinking, "This sure seems to be going on longer than it needs to." And that's not a ding on Katie Dippold, who obviously did a great job. Far better than I would have, certainly. Even so...It's still a thought I had somewhere close to the end of the third act.
So, what's the big idea? Are the scripts really that long, or are we just getting more drawn-out productions out of 'em? Do page counts still matter, given the box office on these?
That being, it's usually maintained that comedies are probably best capped at 90, and dramas had better really be something special if they go anywhere near (or, God forbid - OVER) 120. Of course, there are a lot of opinions on that, but these rough ideas are still pretty widely-held.
However...In checking out the current listings at my local multiplex, it certainly seems as though there may just be a fair bit of page-bloat going on in some of these produced pieces.
Observe:
The Lone Ranger - 149 min
The Heat - 117 min
Pacific Rim - 131 min
White House Down - 137 min
Man of Steel - 143 min
Now, throwing out Tonto and Superman (which we obviously know are property pieces), we have three ostensibly original specs there in the middle. And every single one of 'em pushes the "page count" equation to limits most of us would be reluctant to, given their respective genres.
Total disclosure: The only one of the middle three I've seen is "The Heat." And while I enjoyed it, at one point I remember thinking, "This sure seems to be going on longer than it needs to." And that's not a ding on Katie Dippold, who obviously did a great job. Far better than I would have, certainly. Even so...It's still a thought I had somewhere close to the end of the third act.
So, what's the big idea? Are the scripts really that long, or are we just getting more drawn-out productions out of 'em? Do page counts still matter, given the box office on these?
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