It has been my understanding that the reason that a film script had to be 90 minutes is so that the theater could maximize showings in a 12 hour period, Approx. 8 showings. Now with the advent of streaming and cable, I've noticed that films are being made with a run time of up to 3 hours. As a writer or producer, does the 90 minute limit still stand?
Your thoughts?
That's a very good and time appropriate question. I've always thought the page count shouldn't be an issue if there's a great story to keep the reader/viewer entertained, within reason of course. I'd be interested to see the responses.
I think a great movie will be about 105 minutes... give or take... anything over 2 hours will probably lose the magic and attention of the audience.
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From experience as a writer-producer, I can tell you that the 90 minute limit is a huge deal in the indie world. If you want a network TV deal, which is often critical to getting a theatrical distribution MG, you often can't even screen an unknown movie that's over ~90mins.
Streaming only changes this if you're willing to take an exclusive VOD deal, which is unlikely to be as lucrative and can come with payment term complications.
In many cases, you'll also find feature writing assignment contracts dictate a total page count of around 90-120pp for similar reasons.
Amateur writers with portfolios full of 120pp and above specs are potentially limiting their opportunities as savvy indie producers know they need lean material to maximise their returns.
I start looking at my watch in the Two Hour+ movies. There are very few movies I wish could go on and on. There are some, but not that many.
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If it's any longer we need an intermission
Charise Sowells those were the days (:
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Since the "new normal" means that people can just pause whenever, I think the structure is going away. Which is why so much is shifted towards episodic storytelling. You could have probably told "The Queens Gambit" in a feature length stretch. But people want to binge watch a season now... But I agree with what everyone has said: The story dictates. The script for M:I Two was like what... 40 pages long? (hence the slow-mo doves and flamenco dancers)...
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You'se guys seem to make up and abide by your own rules.
Be careful of going too much the other way on a production script. It's wise to have some contingency.
This is a great discussion. My last two scripts have been 103 and 105. Now I think it might be wise for me to go back into them and make some more cuts. Now that I have become desensitized to murdering "my darlings" it's so much easier to cut the length. In one of my scripts that I wound up cutting 12 pages from the original.
Some of the contests I've entered believe a 100-page script is light. I try to stay above 100 pages if at all possible.
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To quote Hitchcock: "The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder."
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Oh, and I was unnecessarily worried about my script 'Dilemma in the Dundakaranya'; it is just 65 pages long!
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I think back to the days of VHS. There were 3 films that come to mind that had to be split up onto 2 tapes because of their length: Titanic, Braveheart, and The Green Mile. All three of them had major star power, but they also had great stories to them as well. I think that would possibly the flip side to the showings-per-day argument: if you have a 3-hour film showing 4-5 times a day, and those theaters are all sold out, then you'll make more money than if you show several other features with theaters only half-full or worse.
Streaming is potentially changing that game, but you have to have a great story to begin with either way.