My biggest takeaway? When it comes to screenplays, you can do whatever you want... as long as it works on the page. Know the conventions script readers will carry with them into a read, but if your story rocks, you can literally do anything you want... like writing a 31 page feature length script.

I love this movie, I love the script. Even if only 31 pages, it is a great read and also demonstrates Chandor's faith in himself and his project. That being said, he did get Robert Redford on board right away (I think he even wrote it with the actor in mind, didn't he?) so I'm guessing that it helps with potential investors. I've talked about this with producers and directors and there seems to be two schools of thought (in France, anyway): 1) The shorter the script, the thinner the story. 30-50 pages? Not even opening it. And 2) Wow, a story that's entirely visual? Little to no dialogue? Bring it on! :) I don't adhere to any rules, I only believe in "Hook'em on p.1 and never let them go!"

P.S. Reminds of Daniel Kunka's very enjoyable YELLOWSTONE FALLS that finished on the 2014 Black List. 52 pages only. Those short, visual scripts are definitely an inspiration. And a real writing challenge. I tried it out with a previous script in which my protag spends the entire third act alone. It was very intimidating to begin with - how on earth am I going to fill 20 pages with one character, one location, no dialogue? - but once you get going, it turns out to be great fun and creatively liberating. Also, that's when you realize right away if you know your protag well enough since it's all about coming up with situations that test them and push them further into a corner.

Chandor wrote it with Redford in mind. He met him at the Sundance Film Festival, asking him to read the script when it was done. Redford agreed, based on the concept. Chandor sent him the script. He and Redford met in LA (Redford doesn't live there, but has an office). After about 10 minutes of conversation, Redford said yes. And of course, that helped enormously in getting financing. It also helped that Margin Call did the business it did. I think you are: If a script comes in at 30-50 pages, almost all readers will look at it negatively based purely upon page count. However if the story is great, that can overcome this prejudice.

This was a great lesson in analyzing a script and looking at structure. Thanks, Scott. I got a lot out of it.

Great, Colleen. We will continue both the script reading and analysis series and the movie analysis series on a bi-weekly basis for as long as people stay involved. As I've said many time, reading scripts and watching movies are incredibly important in terms of learning the craft.