A few
helpful details.

Opening the Mac beta.

This beta is ad-hoc signed and has not been notarized by Apple. On first launch, macOS may show “Apple could not verify Movie Master.app is free of malware.” Apple has not verified this build; the warning does not by itself identify malware.

If you trust the copy downloaded from this site or our GitHub release, Apple's app-specific opening procedure is:

1. Open the DMG, drag Movie Master.app to Applications, and try opening it once. Dismiss the verification warning.
2. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security. Scroll to Security and click Open Anyway beside Movie Master.
3. Confirm that you want to open Movie Master and authenticate if macOS asks. macOS remembers the exception for this app.

Read Apple's explanation and instructions ↗. These steps apply to the verification warning above. If macOS instead says the app will damage your computer or is damaged, stop and contact the project through GitHub.

The writing ritual.

The Eric Roth reference is based on his own account of writing in a DOS version of Movie Master in a 2020 conversation with John August. This is an independent app, not a distribution of that historical program. Eric Roth has no association with, or endorsement of, this app.

• Scriptnotes #475: The One with Eric Roth
  John August. Transcript published November 20, 2020.
• Writers on Writing with Eric Roth
  Writers Guild Foundation, October 2020.
• Creative Spark: Eric Roth — Academy Originals
  The photograph links to this official video and is served by YouTube as its preview image. Image rights belong to the respective rights holders.

The screen.

The homepage shows an actual screenshot of the running v0.4.2 DOS app, captured through DOSBox-X's screenshot command. It is not a web recreation of the interface. The pixels have not been retouched.

The original demonstration scene features Paul and Chani on Arrakis. It was written for this preview; it is not an excerpt from a published Dune screenplay. Dune and its characters belong to their respective rights holders. There is no affiliation or endorsement.

The website uses system typography and no analytics. The Eric Roth image is served by YouTube and links to the official video.

Open source.

The application and website sources are on GitHub, under the MIT license. Bundled third-party components retain their own licenses. Downloads are hosted as GitHub release assets.

The release.

Movie Master v0.4.4 uses the .SEN document extension and opens drafts from previous versions. Scene counts, numbering and number locking are included. Numbered documents use SEN format version 2; this release also opens version 1 files. Verify the SHA-256 checksums.

Mac: Apple Silicon and macOS 15 or later. DOSBox-X is included with its licenses. The personal build is ad-hoc signed and is not Apple-notarized. DOS: 386+, VGA and extended memory, with 32 MB recommended. Windows: 32- and 64-bit builds are included; they have been compiled but not tested on a live Windows machine. Sources and third-party license notices are inside the download packages.

The app works offline. It supports Fountain import, PDF/TXT/Fountain export, Latin text and selectable keyboard layouts. Advanced revision tracking, production scheduling and online co-editing are outside its scope. App menus are in English.

Support.

Donations are optional and are not open yet. The button currently shows information only. No payment details are collected. The payment provider will be added later.