Oct 21, 2019, 9:55 PM

FORMULA FOR A FILM SCRIPT: PAGES

By Gene Turnbow (Quora)

As much as I wish it weren’t so, there is still a formula for a film script.

Your action had better start before page 10 or you’re toast. This is about 10% of the way through your script, and it’s the opportunity for things to begin changing. The lead character begins the journey, something important happens that throws the future in doubt, and off they go.

By about the 15% mark, the main character is settling into the groove of exploring the situation, either emotionally or physically.

By the 25% mark, it starts to become clear that there is a specific situation that needs to be resolved, and the lead character needs to start applying themselves to the task in earnest.

Your main character needs to have his or her epiphany around page 55 of a 110 page script. That’s the point of no return. Moving forward from here means there’s no going back. The lead character is now fully committed to whatever it is that must be done. The stakes become more clear, and the details of the complications unfold.

At the 75% mark, there is a major setback. This sets the stage for the final conflict or battle, again, whether it’s physical or emotional. The final push for resolution begins.

At the 90% mark, it’s time for the final conflict that the entire film is leading up to. Against all odds, the girl gets the boy; the boy gets the girl; the girl frees her city; the beleaguered improbable company lands its first big contract; the planet killer is destroyed.

Then at the end, some kind of closure happens. We get to see that happily ever after as a payoff for sitting through all that, but it means something to us now because we understand what’s been at stake and how hard the character has had to fight to get there.

Not every screenplay follows this formula, but pretty much all the successful ones do. If you’re trying to sell a screenplay, if you’re not following this, you’re going to have a very hard time.

Don’t fool yourself into thinking that this formula doesn’t matter. The people who read scripts for production companies assess scripts by checking what happens at these percentage points in the script and can figure out if the script is worth reading in its entirety based on just that, in a matter of about three minutes. The slush piles are piled high with scripts that don’t meet this basic requirement.