Erik Roth, the screenwriter of the 2021 sci-fi hit Dune, wrote the script in an outdated program: Movie Master V3.09. In a video, the celebrated author explained what the reason for his special setup is.
Erik Roth is an American screenwriter who has written scripts for Forrest Gump (1994), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), and Dune (2021).
In a YouTube video from September 22, 2014, the screenwriter showed his study and also presented his unusual setup.
According to Vice, the screenplay for the great sci-fi epic from 2021 is also said to have been written there, since: the video is from 2014, Roth wrote the script for the film in 2018, and explained to Barstool Sports in 2020 that he still uses the same program as back then: Movie Master.
Here you can see the trailer for Dune: Part Two:
“Half superstition, half fear of change”
Erik Roth showed in the video his outdated system (Windows XP). He used Movie Master V3.09, an equally outdated MS-DOS software, for writing – the latter is about 30 years old.
As a reason for his special setup, the screenwriter admitted that it is “half superstition, half fear of change.”
Throughout the video, Erik Roth further explained what advantages he saw in his special setup: he had not connected his PC to the internet. This allowed the author increased security, as his scripts were protected from online threats.
In this YouTube video, Eric Roth talks about his working process. Starting at minute 1:10, he discusses his setup:
However, this also has a major disadvantage, as Eric Roth admitted. Due to the lack of internet connection, he has to send printed copies to his clients, which, in turn, must be scanned by them in order to use them on their PCs.
Without the rapid email exchange, this naturally takes more time, making the screenwriter “slower.”
This sometimes leads to sadness and anger among clients until they eventually reach acceptance, as Erik Roth noted with a laugh.
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Another advantage that Erik Roth sees in his outdated writing program is the storage limit of 40 pages. The author appreciates this because it automatically divides his scripts into acts.
This reminds the author to get to the point quickly before storage space in MS-DOS runs out.
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Dune: Awakening – Release, Beta, Gameplay and more about the new survival MMO
