So, this is just a question of personal preference and I'm sure will bring up other sub-topics (density of writing, amount of dialogue, etc), but I'm curious what everyone's take is on scripts, specifically, at what page count is a feature-length script considered unreasonably long in your eyes?

Are you talking unreasonably long to post on this site and expect a read/comment/review?

or unreasonably long for production/resulting length of the movie?

Any length that holds my interest is fine by me. I've never looked at a page number as I'm reading. If it's good, I devour it. If the script is unreasonably long because it has bloated and unnecessary scenes, then I will probably have bailed by page ten so total page count still isn't a factor.

Quoted from Matthew Taylor Are you talking unreasonably long to post on this site and expect a read/comment/review? or unreasonably long for production/resulting length of the movie?

Meaning before you start reading the script, you see the page count and that somewhat, or fully, turns you off to the script.

Reading The Hunt at the moment. I remember when Carson reviewed it last week, I think, he commented on how he gave it extra point just for being 90 pages...

I hesitate to read anything over 110 pages unless someone recommends the script.

Quoted from Mr. Blonde Meaning before you start reading the script, you see the page count and that somewhat, or fully, turns you off to the script.

Oh, in that case it depends on if it's from a regular member. I have more faith in members cuz people on here are damn good writers. Not that there aren't good nonmembers who post scripts (Dwhyte Star!), but anything over 120 pages I'd suspect problems.

But if it's 400+ pages I guarantee I would open out of curiosity.

over 100 pages and I get a bit iffy. But if the logline catches my attention then I'll at least open it up.

over 120 and I move on to the next.

My reasoning is I am short on time - 120+ I'm not going to get through, even if I like it.

If a see a 90 pager with a well-written logline and a premise that interests me - I'll be bookmarking it for a read

Over 120 pages...but....as others have mentioned, it's really all about how it's written.

As I always say, MOST SCRIPTS are artificially long because of writing mistakes, lack of proper editing, lack of understanding.

Most movies should not be and aren't over 2 hours, and I do hold true to the old adage that 1 page equals 1 minute of film.

For me, it’s 120 pages, but I would never make a decision not to read without at least opening the script and taking a look at the first few pages, even if it exceeds the aforementioned limit.  (My own script is 115, though it’s dialogue heavy, so were it produced, it’d likely be shorter in running time.) I guess my point is that page range can vary for different reasons, and I wouldn’t want to judge too quickly.

—Mike

Quoted from Dreamscale Over 120 pages...but....as others have mentioned, it's really all about how it's written. As I always say, MOST SCRIPTS are artificially long because of writing mistakes, lack of proper editing, lack of understanding. Most movies should not be and aren't over 2 hours, and I do hold true to the old adage that 1 page equals 1 minute of film.

This is one of the reasons the page count isn't everything. You can easily add two or three pages with a bunch of little errors.

But you're not going to add twenty.

More likely, an early draft will have overly talky scenes or entire side-plots that don't add to the story. That's where some decent feedback can really help, and it doesn't require the reader to analyze every last page with a fine-toothed comb.

More than 100 pages is a cause for concern, and I'm definitely less inclined to read something in the three-digit range. Laziness on my part, perhaps, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way. I do think one can write a fine script up to 120, give or take, so long as it's compelling and purposeful. Beyond that, I'd start to have serious doubts about the quality of the script.

You already have a good consensus of the short answer. If you can keep it under 120 pages, even better under 110, then you really should.

The long answer is the script should be as long as it needs to be. If you can tell your story in 85 pages, fantastic. If your story needs 130, then it needs 130. As you can already see, it better earn that higher page count though. Anything over 110 pages will make the reader wonder if it's worth their time. Even if they decide to chance it, they'll be looking for any excuse to bail. Seriously. There's just too much to read and not enough time.

Star Wars: A New Hope was 2 hours and 5 minutes long. In that time George Lucas established an entire galaxy. He introduced characters, story, politics, social issues, class issues, new technology, a new economy, religion, and a little thing called the Force. How are you spending your 120 pages? Are you sure you need that much time?

If the answer is still yes, and the writing is engaging and the story needs it, go ahead and write 150 pages. 180 pages. Just remember the page count also balloons the production cost, and the longer it is the more likely you're writing yourself out of marketability.

Jupiter Ascending was over 600 pages that got "whittled down" to 300 plus a bible for the actors. Just imagine the work that goes into a 600 page script. You better believe they felt they needed it all, too. And when it came down to production, we got a super condensed version of the epic instead of one good movie. Write what you want, however long it needs to be, but remember that ultimately it will always come down to production and money, so set your expectations accordingly.

Quoted from FrankM This is one of the reasons the page count isn't everything. You can easily add two or three pages with a bunch of little errors. But you're not going to add twenty.

Oh, you'd be surprised how many wasted pages peeps have in a feature script.  Shocking sometimes, and yes, I'm talking 20 extra pages easily, all due to "mistakes" - orphans, overwriting, transitions, wrylies, asides, etc.

Quoted from ReneC You already have a good consensus of the short answer. If you can keep it under 120 pages, even better under 110, then you really should. The long answer is the script should be as long as it needs to be. If you can tell your story in 85 pages, fantastic. If your story needs 130, then it needs 130. As you can already see, it better earn that higher page count though. Anything over 110 pages will make the reader wonder if it's worth their time. Even if they decide to chance it, they'll be looking for any excuse to bail. Seriously. There's just too much to read and not enough time. Star Wars: A New Hope was 2 hours and 5 minutes long. In that time George Lucas established an entire galaxy. He introduced characters, story, politics, social issues, class issues, new technology, a new economy, religion, and a little thing called the Force. How are you spending your 120 pages? Are you sure you need that much time? If the answer is still yes, and the writing is engaging and the story needs it, go ahead and write 150 pages. 180 pages. Just remember the page count also balloons the production cost, and the longer it is the more likely you're writing yourself out of marketability. Jupiter Ascending was over 600 pages that got "whittled down" to 300 plus a bible for the actors. Just imagine the work that goes into a 600 page script. You better believe they felt they needed it all, too. And when it came down to production, we got a super condensed version of the epic instead of one good movie. Write what you want, however long it needs to be, but remember that ultimately it will always come down to production and money, so set your expectations accordingly.

I've never seen a Star Wars script, but my bet is that it was much longer than the film's run time suggests.

As to Jupiter Ascending...well...oh man, what a complete fucking mess that was.  The finished movie was basically unwatchable.  I tried...several times.  Never made it past the 1 hour mark.

Quoted from Dreamscale Oh, you'd be surprised how many wasted pages peeps have in a feature script.  Shocking sometimes, and yes, I'm talking 20 extra pages easily, all due to "mistakes" - orphans, overwriting, transitions, wrylies, asides, etc.

You really need to write that book.

Quoted from Demento You really need to write that book.

;D ;D ;D

I'm serious, Bro.

Think about this...seriously.  2 orphans on every page of a 100 page script, could easily 5 pages, based on where breaks occur, Slugs, etc.  Hell, could actually even be 6.

Think about all the other completely unnecessary things that could/should be chopped.

I'd bet almost every single 100 page scripts could/should be less than 95, just on writing choices, not omitting visuals at all....and those are thew well written ones!

Quoted from Dreamscale ;D ;D ;D I'm serious, Bro. Think about this...seriously.  2 orphans on every page of a 100 page script, could easily 5 pages, based on where breaks occur, Slugs, etc.  Hell, could actually even be 6. Think about all the other completely unnecessary things that could/should be chopped. I'd bet almost every single 100 page scripts could/should be less than 95, just on writing choices, not omitting visuals at all....and those are thew well written ones!

I'm serious too. The majority of your posts are about how people make a ton of mistakes. Imagine how many people you could help. If all these things are obvious to you and you are so convinced that you are right, you can slowly, let's say in a span of a year or two, write a 100 page ebook. So, when you read some newb's script on here, you can just post - dude, I see errors, check out my free ebook, it'll save your career. It would save you time explaining yourself on here, because everyone will know exactly where you stand on all these issues.

Help others, help yourself, get street cred. Win-win.

Over 120, I'd be wondering.

Still, I don't like loooong movies either unless I'm not noticing, in which case mission accomplished.
Christopher and Jonathan Nolan need to stop getting carried away with themselves imho.

Jupiter Ascending? Not half as bad as that gem of a movie Upside Down. ::)

Quoted from ReneC You already have a good consensus of the short answer. If you can keep it under 120 pages, even better under 110, then you really should. The long answer is the script should be as long as it needs to be. If you can tell your story in 85 pages, fantastic. If your story needs 130, then it needs 130. As you can already see, it better earn that higher page count though. Anything over 110 pages will make the reader wonder if it's worth their time. Even if they decide to chance it, they'll be looking for any excuse to bail. Seriously. There's just too much to read and not enough time. Star Wars: A New Hope was 2 hours and 5 minutes long. In that time George Lucas established an entire galaxy. He introduced characters, story, politics, social issues, class issues, new technology, a new economy, religion, and a little thing called the Force. How are you spending your 120 pages? Are you sure you need that much time? If the answer is still yes, and the writing is engaging and the story needs it, go ahead and write 150 pages. 180 pages. Just remember the page count also balloons the production cost, and the longer it is the more likely you're writing yourself out of marketability. Jupiter Ascending was over 600 pages that got "whittled down" to 300 plus a bible for the actors. Just imagine the work that goes into a 600 page script. You better believe they felt they needed it all, too. And when it came down to production, we got a super condensed version of the epic instead of one good movie. Write what you want, however long it needs to be, but remember that ultimately it will always come down to production and money, so set your expectations accordingly.

Agree

Quoted from MarkItZero Any length that holds my interest is fine by me. I've never looked at a page number as I'm reading. If it's good, I devour it. If the script is unreasonably long because it has bloated and unnecessary scenes, then I will probably have bailed by page ten so total page count still isn't a factor.

I agree. It depends. I don't have a page number cut off point. I fundamentally disagree with that approach to a piece of writing. I would never dismiss a script purely based on its length.

A lot of my favourite films are longer than 2 hours.

The general consensus for spec script reading is around 100 pages for a feature. Remember, spec scripts are to show off you potential, it's a sample - not war & peace. Most spec scripts don't get produced in the mainstream world and these readers have a lot of scripts to read through.

If I'm reading a spec scripts from an unknown or a fellow writer wanting a peer review, I roll my eyes if it's 120+ pages but sigh a gentle sigh of relief if it is 100 or less. If this is a professionally produced script by a writer I admire that was made into a film I love, I don't care how long it is!

It's like reading a book. If you've chosen the book. It's pleasure. Some random person throws a huge volume at you and says, read this, it's work - it's more of a chore. So size (in this case) does matter.  

Quoted from Dreamscale Oh, you'd be surprised how many wasted pages peeps have in a feature script.  Shocking sometimes, and yes, I'm talking 20 extra pages easily, all due to "mistakes" - orphans, overwriting, transitions, wrylies, asides, etc.

Consistent overwriting is not something I'd lump in with "little errors," though it's still something fairly straightforward to fix.

Of course, "straightforward" does not always mean "easy." It can be hard for the writer to take a step back and realize which parts of their world-building are non-essential (says the person introducing seven fictional nations and five fictional ethnic groups in a family script).

Quoted from MarkRenshaw The general consensus for spec script reading is around 100 pages for a feature. Remember, spec scripts are to show off you potential, it's a sample - not war & peace. Most spec scripts don't get produced in the mainstream world and these readers have a lot of scripts to read through. If I'm reading a spec scripts from an unknown or a fellow writer wanting a peer review, I roll my eyes if it's 120+ pages but sigh a gentle sigh of relief if it is 100 or less. If this is a professionally produced script by a writer I admire that was made into a film I love, I don't care how long it is! It's like reading a book. If you've chosen the book. It's pleasure. Some random person throws a huge volume at you and says, read this, it's work - it's more of a chore. So size (in this case) does matter.

Agree with all of this, with one caveat. I know of a writer who wrote an epic spec script that would have cost $300 million to make, and that was fifteen years ago. He never expected it to get produced, but that's the script that launched his career as a screenwriter. Good writing is good writing no matter how long it is.

But he probably had a friend who knew somebody to read it. ;)

I want to thank everyone for their input. It's been fun to read as we go along. A couple hinted that maybe I was asking in regards to my own scripts. While my scripts do come in long these days, I do stand by the writing inside them, but I wasn't referring to my own, personally. Rather, it is always good to have other people's feelings taken into account. I'm actually more fascinated by seeing what other people are thinking when they read than by simply trying to fit a script inside a box.

Quoted from Mr. Blonde I want to thank everyone for their input. It's been fun to read as we go along. A couple hinted that maybe I was asking in regards to my own scripts. While my scripts do come in long these days, I do stand by the writing inside them, but I wasn't referring to my own, personally. Rather, it is always good to have other people's feelings taken into account. I'm actually more fascinated by seeing what other people are thinking when they read than by simply trying to fit a script inside a box.

Wait...are you ending this discussion? Can you do that?

Can he do that?

Was it something we said?

Quoted from ReneC Wait...are you ending this discussion? Can you do that? Can he do that? Was it something we said?

No, please continue if you'd like. I just like getting a sense of what people are interested in when reading a script. That's why I posed the question in the first place.

Quoted from ReneC Wait...are you ending this discussion? Can you do that? Can he do that? Was it something we said?

He's a moderator, so technically he can end the discussion by locking the thread. But we'd just start another one out of spite :)

Quoted from FrankM He's a moderator, so technically he can end the discussion by locking the thread. But we'd just start another one out of spite :)

Phew. Glad I'm not the only imp in the playground.

Quoted from ReneC Wait...are you ending this discussion? Can you do that? Can he do that? Was it something we said?

Sounds like the birth of a new topic.

"How long should a thread be?"

I feel like the writing community's "minimum" keeps changing. I remember being told (as a teenager, 10+ years ago), similar to many in this thread, that your script should be as close to 90 pages as you can get it, and no spec should ever be approaching 120.

Nowadays, 90 is a minimum (unless it's an amazing script - which I guess is something that overrides any rules regardless). For instance, I wrote an 87 page feature once and was told "why not just add a scene or two to bump it to the industry standard?". Admittedly, it was far from a perfect script and part of that was that I simply didn't delve into a narrative enough, but that wasn't the commentator's point - he/she literally just thought 90 was an acceptable minimum.

As for pilot specs? Completely bewildering. I literally have no idea what page-length any kind of pilot should be, especially with streaming now being a thing. I was once told a half hour, single-camera comedy pilot should have less pages than a half hour drama - despite them being the same time length. Something about act breaks in comedies being longer? Idk. I don't watch American TV. I've been told it depends whether you intend for your script to be on Cable, or on Networks - who the hell is thinking like that writing an original spec?

Anyway, rant done. My point is, no one know what length is good, clearly. Least of all me.