SCRIPT LENGTH VS. BEST PICTURE

I've made this point many times before, but just updated it.

A true and consistently applied Moral Premise
Explored through a variety of World Views
Portrayed by difference characters
Struggling to accomplish an assortment of goals
made visible in a diversity of plots and subplots
Will result in audience's engagement...
...and a Successful Box Office.

That takes time....and pages

The fewer pages
the fewer world views
the fewer differences in characters
the fewer goals
the fewer plots
the less engagement
the lower the box office.

Producers and investors want shorter movies because they think they will be cheaper. They are right...along with the cheaper (smaller) return on investment.

This is NOT to say that a movie with more pages will be a better movie or one that naturally connects with the audience due to its length alone. There are many other factors, like a good story and acting.

But, this DOES say that for a movie to be successful, length, and pages, and plots, and characters, and world views are necessary....as much as good acting. It is all because the audience needs time to assimilate with the characters and identify emotionally with them. That takes time.

Here is a listing of BEST PICTURE OSCARS from 1990-2014.
(see notes below table for how numbers were calculated.)

AVERAGE SCRIPT LENGTH: 136 pages
MEDIAN (middle value): 145 pages
RANGE: 95-196 pages

The shortest film, The Artist (2011), at 95 min, was mostly a silent movie—little dialogue; it stands apart from the rest—the next shortest film being 107 pages and the longest 196 pages.

YEAR       TITLE               PAGES    MM$:WW     MM$/PG

2014 American Hustle ...........133.......249.......1.87  

2013 12 Years a Slave ..........129.......181.......1.40

2012 Argo ......................115.......227.......1.97

2011 The Artist .................95.......128.......1.35

2010 The King’s Speech .........113.......432.......3.81

2009 The Hurt Locker ...........126........50.......0.40

2008 Slumdog Millionaire .......115.......385.......3.35

2007 No Country for Old Men ....117.......164.......1.40

2006 The Departed ..............146.......291.......1.99

2005 Crash .....................107.......101.......0.94

2004 Million Dollar Baby .......127.......232.......1.83

2003 LOTR: Return of the King.. 196.....1,142.......5.83

2002 Chicago ...................108.......308.......2.85

2001 A Beautiful Mind ..........130.......318.......2.45

2000 Gladiator .................150.......458.......3.05

1999 American Beauty ...........116.......356.......3.07

1998 Shakespeare in Love .......118.......279.......2.36

1997 Titanic ...................189.....2,208......11.68

1996 The English Patient .......157.......232.......1.48

1995 Braveheart ................172.......210.......1.22

1994 Forrest Gump ..............137.......680.......4.96

1993 Schindler’s List ..........192.......321.......1.67

1992 Unforgiven ................126.......159.......1.26

1991 Silence of the Lambs ......113.......276.......2.44

1990 Dances with Wolves ........175.......424.......2.42

Pages = Running length via IMDB.COM minus 5 for the end credits.

MM$:WW = WW Gross Box Office via THE-NUMBERS.COM. Total gross is greater than these numbers after inclusion of Home Video, PPV, and licensing for TV etc.  These numbers do not imply proportional profitability. Numbers have NOT been adjusted for inflation or ticket price variation over the years.

MM$/PG = $Millions of WW Gross per page.

Sorting this data by page number and plotting MM$/PG is shown in chart below. It reveals there are peak grosses around 113-116 pages, 130-150 pages, and above 172 pages.  The chart also reveals (in the approximated dotted line) that the MM$/PG increases at a rate slightly faster than the script length, that is, on average, the longer the script the greater the MM$/PG grossed.

Box Office Gross (WW $Millions) per Script Length for Best Picture Oscar 1990-2014.

Consider this information when someone tells you you need to write a 95-110 page script to be accepted by Hollywood. Perhaps you do, to win a pseudo screenwriting contest. But the data above is are the results of the ultimate contest.


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The Importance of Screenplay Formatting - Part 2

I  hate spending time on this, yet it amusing... and informative.
I'm a story guy. I format screenplays out of necessity. "Structure" (a type of format) is far more important. Yet getting screenplays read by gatekeepers (especially at competitions) seems to be about format and style, and not the story, not the structure—legalism encroaches on art — flat boxes disguised as 3-dimentional curves.

Last year my post "Importance of Screenplay Formats" garnered some pushback. My original intent was to suggest that the story was more important than the format, and yet how some gurus and experts will tell you how utterly important correct format is if anyone is going to read anything you wrote. And there is truth in their assertion. I just question if anyone OF WORTH will read it.

I realize that some folks take pride in measuring indentations and circling in red the use of gerunds, adverbs, scene numbers, and SOUND EFFECTS that are not capitalized. But the sign on my bully pulpit still says: FORGET FORMATTING, just write a good story.

This mantra reminds me of Elmore "Dutch" Leonard, the prolific novelist (and source for a handful of movies, e.g. GET SHORTY) who famous said, (channeling a character from GET SHORTY):

Write the story, then get somebody to add the commas and shit.

Such elegance... and truth.

Yes, a properly formatted script will tell the studio, or any knowledgeable production manager, how long and how much money a script will take to produce. But do you think the delicacies of schedule and budget should effect your story, unless you're writing to a particularly small budget? 

I work on enough scripts that get made by studios, and I have not seen one yet that closely follows the "so called standards."  Yes, they roughly follow. But depending on who you talk to the standards are different. I've seen students criticize the format rules in Christopher Riley's The Hollywood Standard because they weren't like their USC Extension instructor's hand out.

Another thing I hear is this:

When you're famous and have mastered the art of the craft, you can break the rules.

Yes, that too is true. But young artists would be wise to copy the masters -- and that applies to screenwriting as well.

Is it possible for writers trying to break into Hollywood to be minutely concerned with formatting that the story suffers and doesn't rise to the bar? That's an interesting Catch-22.  

Write a good story, let someone else format it. 

To test the structure of my bully pulpit, since I jump up and down on it from time to time, I picked a Hollywood script that I did not work on and one that was successful at the theaters. While reading it I made a list of formatting or writing constructions that would typically cause a reader to stop by page five and throw it into the trash. What follows are 13 of the kind of problems that gurus and contest readers warn will get you rejected immediately.   But yet...well, look at this list, first:

1. Describing what music should play in the background of the movie and listing it by artist and song.
2. Repeated use of the phrase, "we hear...." or "we see..." in action description.
3. Repeated use of pedantic verbs in the action description like "he looks," and "she walks."
4. Describing camera movement, and then doing so in lower case.
5. Use of a voice over narrator to tell the story. (Show, don't tell.)
6. Use of bad grammar, (e.g. use of masculine pronoun with a female antecedent.)
7. Numbering scenes.  (Never do this, we're told, even if it helps annotate feedback.)
8. No visual scene description when entering a new space.
9. Repeated and frequent use of gerunds (ing) and adverbs (ly) in action description.
10. Not formatting "INTERCUTS."
11. Not formatting "MONTAGES."
12. A character does not "begin" to do anything, especially "watch" a "sound". 
13. SOUND EFFECTS are not capitalized.

And what is the script that would be instantly rejected by so called value readers?  STRANGER THAN FICTION (Newmarket Press), by Zach Helm. It was this early version of the script that producer Lindsay Doran initially passed around town, instantly garnering interest from multiple directors and studios begging for the right to participate. Marc Forster and Columbia won. It stars a few names you may have heard of: Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah, Emma Thompson, Tony Hale, Tom Hulce, and Linda Hunt.

Do you think these attachments cared about the bad style and formatting? Evidently not.

And how did Zach and Lindsay do it?

A GREAT STORY. The script, even in its early form, is a wonderful read.

Copy the masters. 

The Importance of Screenplay Formats

When I posted Judging Script Contests - New Criteria (a.k.a. Laughing Nun with a Ruler) I realized I was stepping on some sacred ground without taking off my shoes. The catalyst was some well-meaning criticism over a script draft I had submitted to a contest. (Something I rarely do.) What were my violations: (a) I used the word "we" in dialogue, and (b) later a few lines, where a character is yelling, were capitalized. The script was also criticized (c) because the opening dialogue didn't give any clear indication of the relationship between characters. [Duh! It was VO of the co-protagonist, from the end of the movie -- foreshadowing the end.]

The emphasis of the previous post was a call-out for contests to do what many studio and agency heads do... they don't ask to see the script first, but rather ask for hooks, log lines, and a one page snyopsis. THEN, if the STORY has some merit at that level, they'll take a look at the script. In addition to those two or three standard items I suggest that those "reading" or looking for stories, add two other very short items to their submission request list: a Conflict of Values and/or the Moral Premise Statement. In other words: what the movie is REALLY about. The log line and often the synopsis will only tell you what's going on physically or visibly. But what REALLY connects with audiences are the character's value motivations that drive the action. (Do I need to say it again, read The Moral Premise.) THEN, if all that seems like there's potential to the story, ASK FOR THE SCRIPT.

FORMAT RULES AND TOOLS

And when the script arrives in a reader's hands, standard formatting rules are really, very important. (See my P.S. as there is really, no standard.) As a writer (and reader) I need them desperately. Over the deacades the standards have developed to the point where anyone with some experience can understand a great deal about a script at a glance, or a scan. And when reading, the various margins, capitalization, and white space, helps us "see" the story, at least in terms of pacing, length, and budget. There's more below from two of my friends.

What tools do I use? In order of importance they are:

1. FINAL DRAFT software (I'm on a Mac). While you can change the format and use different templates for the type of media you're writing (or for whom), the program does come pretty well set up and ready to go. I think I've made only slight adjustments.

2. THE HOLLYWOOD STANDARD (book by Christopher Riley, Michael Wise Books). Chris's book is sandwiched between my Random House dictionary and well-worn Rodale Synonym Finder, just above my computer. I have the pages edge indexed with ink tabs, and I refer to it often. I still find things I want to do that Chris doesn't discuss, so that's when I go to No. 3.

3. Screenplay and script drafts from studio projects I've working on. 

There are half-a-dozen other format reference guides on my shelves, but I essentially ignore them.

Now, for some choice quotes from two friends who wanted to make sure I wrote THIS post; Douglas Lloyd Mcintosh, and Barbara Nicolosi (both credited WGA writers).

From Doug:

Purchase and use Final Draft, the least expensive and most intuitive screenwriting program available. Simply by using the default settings the writer can create a professionally formatted script that will be acceptable almost anywhere. Another thing I like about Final Draft is that it includes a PDF creator so you can turn your formatted script into a file that anyone can read or print out.

As someone who has read literally hundreds of scripts, I can feel a little more sympathy toward judges, readers or producers who don't want to struggle through a script in a format not considered professional by current standards.

I can also sympathize with Mickey Rooney, who has probably read far, far more scripts than you and I put together over his busy professional lifetime. You're absolutely right that three pages is not enough to reach any meaningful story point, but I tell you, on a certain level I have to agree with him. I want a story that grabs you right from the first moment. If a screenwriter has any skill, professionalism, talent and/or the absolutely crucial ability to get you interested in a story and concerned about the fate of the characters, you probably are going to be able to see it within three pages. My experience is that if I'm bored on the first three pages the rest of the script is almost certainly going to be drudgery to read as well. If a reader wants to keep reading after the first three pages, chances are the audience will want to keep watching the film or TV show.

Story structure is extremely important as you well know, but the first test of any film is whether the reader or later the audience wants to find out what's going to happen next. And they should want to find out what's going to happen next every step of the way. It's vital to tell the story in such a way as to keep people turning those pages.

From Barbara:

I wanted to express a brief defense on behalf of those of us who are sticklers about screenwriting grammar, aka formatting.  Considered under a professional lens, formatting is not irrelevant.  In the vast majority of projects, a correctly formatted page equals one minute of time on the screen.  The margins for dialogue are shorter and allow for the actors to add expression.  The longer margins allow the audience to get a good enough look at whatever is being described.  Beyond timing, capitalizations are signposts to casting agents, line producers, directors and DP's for all their respective tasks. 

The best way to consider a screenplay is like unto an architectural drawing.  People outside the profession do not appreciate all the industry standard norms for drawing, and would probably dismiss them.  But they have their uses.  Essential uses from a professional standpoint. 

People who haven't learned the industry standard for formatting are better off writing their story in a straight narrative fashion, as in a treatment.  There are some expectations for a treatment, but few people in the business will quibble over them. 

Thank you both.

I hope this post makes my suggestion in the previous post more clear. I agree with everything you've said. Great feedback.

And now for my

P.S. 

I think the differences between these two posts on script format comes down to this: "Get it close, avoid the gross." Be consistent and follow some sort of logic.  In other words, the general rules apply and the script needs to be close in terms of spacing, font size, and appearance on the page. But, I continue to get scripts from credited filmmakers and A listers that would be rejected at a moments notice by the so call "contests." And people I work with in L.A. say EVERY studio or group has their own format that is different from everyone else in some way that is obvious.

For instance there is no "precise" and "absolute" standard regarding:

SLUG LINES (SCENE HEADINGS)
-- The Order. General to specific, or specific to general.
-- Separators: hypens, spaces, or periods. I've seen them all.
-- FLASHBACK at front or rear or on line by itself.
-- Scene numbers. Yes or No, depending on your preference. Scripts are easier to critique WITH scene numbers.
-- Never put action description in the slug line. I've seen it, but it's stupid.

MARGIN WIDTHS
-- I've seen everything from 3.5 in wide dialogue to 4.75 inches.
-- Page margins are consistent from 1" on top, bottom, and right, and 1.5 on left, with 1/4" variations

ACTION DESCRIPTION
-- I see many gerunds and adverbs. MANY of them.
-- I see many paragraphs that are 8 to 12 lines or more in length.
-- I see descriptions that when broken down will take pages to describe accurately, but in a screenplay they read fine and make sense. They tell the story.

In the end, the script must be formatted exactly, shot for shot, to give the studio an idea of the budget. An independent filmmaker sent me a script recently that she intends to shoot. No one else is involve. Not sure she has the budget, but in such cases a proper format will tell her and her production manager what it will cost to shoot and how many days. But there were scene descriptions of action that rather than taking up the 1/8 of a page that was written, would take 3 pages to shoot.

So, in the end format matters. But the standard is in the reader's head.

Sequel Post: The Importance of Screenplay Formats - Part 2