I'm getting pretty worried, because I just finished a first draft that's only 90 pages long. I normally like having a lot so I can cut things down.

Can someone tell me what their page count is normally for a first draft?

It depends a lot of what the plot is/. I've had one first draft be 65 pages. The final rounded out at 118. I had another that was 145 and it's only just trimmed to 138. My current one is 150 and climbing as I fill out some character stuff. It all depends on the story and how much you've got it finished when you write it down. Where you go on filling or trimming will depend on whether you're long or short. In your case, you don't want to trim a lot, but you'll want to look for opportunities where you might have slighted some character development or plot holes.

Once I finish my initial rewrite on my 150+ one, I'll make sure the story is tight and see where I have maybe repeated stuff or for scenes that can be combined, trimmed or otherwise removed.

George is right. It all depends on the plot and subject of your screenplay. If you are writing a horror; let's say a slasher. You're not going to need a 120 page script. Infact, you'll be fit to stay around the 90-95 page mark.

For instance, the first draft of Devil's Peak was only 90 pages (or 92, can't remember). After about the 10th draft, it's sitting at around 107 pages now.

So, even though the rule of thumb is to cut down with each draft, that's not always the case.

I've heard of first drafts of script being as low as the 60-75 pages.  For me personally, I've written a script that was 174 pages long (in Courier New font).  When I converted it to Courier Final Draft font it was still around 146 pages.  That's just me and I tend to overwrite.

The thing to remember is, this is you FIRST DRAFT.  That means you are far from finished.  Now you have to sit back and look at you script.  Is it perfect in the format it is now?  Could some characters use more fleshing out?  Do certain things need trimming?

The last thing you want to do is to start adding useless scenes just so you can increase your page numbers.  If it only takes 90 or less pages to tell a well thought out and engaging tale then that's where it should stand.

Hope this helps,
Jonathan

Latest industry info I've read on length is that the former 120 pages is now preferred to be 110.

More and more movies today are running 85 minutes.

A 90-100 page script is a safe bet.

A first draft, however, can be any length.  When writing it, you shouldn't concern yourself how long or short it is.  That gets fixed later on.


Phil