Shortest Feature Length Screenplay?

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  • Shortest Feature Length Screenplay?

    Hi folks. I'm working on a micro budget screenplay. My plan is to make it on the short side of the acceptable length for a feature. It is a sexy thriller that all takes place in one night. I'm not really focused on trying sell it to Hollywood as much as raising less than a million and shooting it myself. Standard advice is 90-120 pages, but I've seen lots of indi films on Netflix that are less than 90 minutes. Thoughts?

  • #2
    Re: Shortest Feature Length Screenplay?

    the waiting place

    The writers and director went through the same polytech as I did a year or so earlier also studying video production. The tutor's helped with a little post production, they said the budget was approximately $NZ50K and script was 28 or 29 pages long

    that's pretty damned short.
    I heard the starting gun


    sigpic

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    • #3
      Re: Shortest Feature Length Screenplay?

      If you're filming it yourself, then all bets are off. Do whatever you want. If there are specific festivals you'd like to enter when it's done, you might look at their rules concerning entries. If you're worried about being sure you have something that a studio might buy and distribute, you're probably a few steps ahead of yourself if this is your first movie.
      Patrick Sweeney

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      • #4
        Re: Shortest Feature Length Screenplay?

        There's little direct connection between page count and budget. Really, just don't write anything that can't be shot on a location you know you can use for free.

        Also, don't get talked into shooting digitally - the idea that digital is cheaper is a big fat load of marketing. Super 16 at a low shooting ratio is the best bang-for-buck, IMO.

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        • #5
          Re: Shortest Feature Length Screenplay?

          Lots of 80 page scripts that turn into about 80 minute movies and then add a long title sequence and end credit crawl.

          At Raindance Film Fest saw a film called SLEEPING DOGS that ran 87 minutes... and was made for 100 pounds hard cost.

          Crap like SHARKNADO is also under 90 minutes, and budgeted at about half a million (including cast). That's about average for those SyFy Channel bad CGI driven movies. These days what few MOWs made have budgets around $700k, and production companies often skim some off the top for "overhead".

          My crappy CYBERZONE flick for Corman two decades ago was 90 pages, but was shot in 9 days and a whole scene got cut because they ran out of time (and the fight scenes were abbreviated), at a budget of $200k (including space ship battles). That was written for the 9 day schedule, which is pretty common for small films. That was a time when everything was 35mm, so shooting 2 weekends and the week in between was a way to save money. Shooting for 4 weeks on an HBO submarine warfare flick was a luxury after that.

          The most important thing is to make sure the script rocks. When I see films at fests, the biggest problem is always the screenplay. Often sketchy, with dialogue that only works on the obvious level, and characters who do things without motivation, and plots that make no sense. All of this stuff can be fixed at the script stage, before you've rented equipment and are paying a crew. SLEEPING DOGS had an actor from the HARRY POTTER movies in the cast, looked good... but the script could have been a lot better. So, if you have 80 pages make sure they are the best 80 pages possible.

          Bill
          Free Script Tips:
          http://www.scriptsecrets.net

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          • #6
            Re: Shortest Feature Length Screenplay?

            Thanks Bill. Everything that you said is true. A really good script at perhaps 88 pages could make money. Lovelace is 92 minutes. What do you think of Hard Candy? I just ordered the DVD from Netflix. The plot looks ridiculous, but I want to see it from a production standpoint. Hard Candy cost under a million, 18 shooting days, limited cast, mostly shot inside one house, etc.... Looks like it made 7 million theatrical worldwide. Not bad, and probably still making some money from cable TV and stuff.

            I've only written three feature scripts, but I sold one of them. It was never produced, but at least I got paid. My new script is not like Hard Candy, but it will have similar production requirements.

            John

            By the way, I went your your website and saw that you wrote Crash Dive starring Michael Dudikoff . Years ago, I was a grip on a Michael Dudikoff movie. During one take, he got hit in the head with a blunt metal sword. The blow seemed to calm him down quite a bit, much to the amusement of the crew. Then I noticed that Frederic Forrest is also in Crash Dive. HOLY ****, I was a P.A. on a film (Margaret Bourke-White) in which he played Farrah Fawcett's lover. Frederic was a nice guy. So.... in six degrees of separation, that makes you and I almost blood brothers! LOL

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            • #7
              Re: Shortest Feature Length Screenplay?

              I've seen some microbudgets that were in the 75-minute range.

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              • #8
                Re: Shortest Feature Length Screenplay?

                0-10 pages. Reno 911!: Miami, as an example.

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                • #9
                  Re: Shortest Feature Length Screenplay?

                  Yeah, really couldn't matter less if you're filming it yourself.

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