Why Do Steven's Movies..

[irimi-nage]

Hi,

Small question : Why do steven's movies always take 90 mins?


Leander

 

[Djjesse]

I was wording too was does his film take only 90 min's why can't it be 100 or 120 min.

 

[ORANGATUANG]

maybe time may have some thing to do with it god knows how many takes they have to do before they get an scene right ..etc.. who knows ..but in the time they have to make an movie theres an lot of action to keep us coming back..and wanting more..plus i find some times some movies can be too long and drawn out boarding on boring so i say to steven and his people what he is doing in the time allowed is just fine ..

 

[mindisamirror]

I think the traditional wisdom is that an action movie should be about 90 minutes long, the perfect length for people to feel like they got their money's worth without getting bored.

The current trend of theatrical action films lasting over two and a half hours seems to stem mostly from the oversized egos of high-profile directors.

 

[supertom]

Basically DTV films like to follow certain patterns. The money men like a film that delivers certain plot elements. Seagal's films are all quite samey in terms of plot, but it's what the investors believe will please fans most and make them continue buying DVD's (it's a shame they don't worry more about the actual quality of final products).

But the 90 minutes thing is a DTV classic. They don't like doing any more than that, because A: It'd mean filming more. And B: They'd have to worry slightly more about making the film better, to hold audiences attention more for 120 minutes say.
Both those things would cost more money.

Currently, if these films shoot for 30 days, and Seagal is on set for 20-25. About as long a film as they can do is 90 minutes. But it makes financial sense for these b-companies.

AND...I can tell you that in most cases, a film needs to be PADDED, and not CUT. Seriously! Most times if they don't come in at the right run time, it means they haven't quite got enough. So what they do then is fill out the run time with lengthy opening credits. Or edit scenes to last longer than they should. Slow the pace of filler dialogue scenes. Or perhaps use a lot of slo-mo in action.

Aaaaahhh B-movies...gotta love em!

 

[Martin01]

A Seagal movie don't need 120 minutes...90 minutes is absolutely ok.

 

[CaseyF*ckinRyback]

As a quick addition to the above - a study was conducted by Paramount Pictures in the 80s (on theatrical releases) where they discovered that people's attention starts waning at the 95 minute mark (factors for distraction included - paying extra parking time, babysitters/kids, etc...) so it was kind of an unwritten rule that 90-100 mins is the 'best' length for a movie. I remember reading about a similar study a few years ago regarding online viewing and gaming - where funnily enough it was discovered that people spend on average about 90 mins at a time viewing, for example, youtube clips or online games such as World Of Warcraft (where concievably they have the option to play for unlimited hours).
It's safe to say that DTV movies have followed that formula.

 

[SeagalMovieFan]

As a quick addition to the above - a study was conducted by Paramount Pictures in the 80s (on theatrical releases) where they discovered that people's attention starts waning at the 95 minute mark (factors for distraction included - paying extra parking time, babysitters/kids, etc...) so it was kind of an unwritten rule that 90-100 mins is the 'best' length for a movie. I remember reading about a similar study a few years ago regarding online viewing and gaming - where funnily enough it was discovered that people spend on average about 90 mins at a time viewing, for example, youtube clips or online games such as World Of Warcraft (where concievably they have the option to play for unlimited hours).
It's safe to say that DTV movies have followed that formula.

I also think that the optimal lenght is between 90 and 100 minutes.