Erin Brockovich

INT. DR. JAFFE'S OFFICE - DAY

A successful-looking doctor sits behind a desk in a well-

appointed office. He's looking at someone off-camera.

DR. JAFFE

Uh, but you have no actual medical

training?

ERIN:

(off)

No. I have kids. Learned a lot right

there. I've seen nurses give my son

a throat culture. I mean what is it --

you stick a giant Q-tip down their

throat and wait. Or a urine analysis,

with that dipstick that tells you

whether or not the white count is

high...

DR. JAFFE

Yes, I understand.

ERIN:

(off)

And, I mean, I'm great with people.

Of course, you'd have to observe me

to know for sure, but trust me on

that one. I'm extremely fast learner.

I mean, you show me what to do in a

lab once, and I've got it down.

He nods. Now we see who he is talking to: ERIN BROCKOVICH.

How to describe her? A beauty queen would come to mind --

which, in fact, she was. Tall in a mini skirt, legs crossed,

tight top, beautiful -- but clearly from a social class and

geographic orientation whose standards for displaying beauty

are not based on subtlety.

ERIN:

...for instance, at one point I wanted

to be an engineer, so I was working

at Fleuer Engineers and Constructors

in Irvine. I fell madly in love with

geology.

DR. JAFFE

Geology?

ERIN:

I learned how to read maps. I love

maps. Did you know our present system

for map-making dates back to the

ancient Greeks in like the third

century B.C.?

DR. JAFFE

No.

ERIN:

Anyway, I was at the company and --

this is interesting, actually -- I

helped Ramish Ginatra design, as an

assistant, part of the Alaskan

pipeline...

DR. JAFFE

Uh-huh.

ERIN:

...But I lost that job because my

son came down with the Chicken Pox

and 104 temperature and my ex-husband

was useless, so... ya know... But

what I want to tell you is I, uh...

I had always wanted to go to medical

school. That was my first interest

really... but then I, you know, got

married... had a kid too young and...

that kind of blew it for me...

Jaffe stares at her.

DR. JAFFE

Uh-huh.

ERIN:

(beat, looks around)

This is a really nice office.

Jaffe looks down at her resume, trying to figure a polite

route.

DR. JAFFE

Thanks.

(looks up at her)

Look...

Beat. By Erin's expression, she knows what's coming.

EXT. DR. JAFFE'S OFFICE / SO. CALIFORNIA SUBURB - MAIN DRAG -

DAY:

A side street. No pedestrians, just parked cars.

Erin is finishing a cigarette. Her face has fallen -- the

enthusiasm and spirit she showed in the interview are now

replaced by a desperate type of concern. She takes a final

puff, puts the cigarette out and walks to her car.

A PARKING TICKET flaps under the wiper of an old Hyundai.

ERIN:

F***.

Even when she talks dirty, there's a heartland goodness to

her voice. Like Kansas corn fields swaying in the breeze.

As she grabs the ticket from the windshield, her sunglasses

accidentally CLATTER to the ground.

ERIN:

Sh*t.

When she picks them up, a fingernail snags on the pavement.

ERIN:

God damn it.

She tends to the nail as she opens her car door and gets in.

WIDER ON THE STREET

The Hyundai starts it up, signals. Then, just as it pulls

slowly out into the street, a JAGUAR barrels around the

corner, accelerating out of the turn, and SLAMS into the

side of Erin's car, sending it CAREENING into the median.

It SMASHES into a foot-thick lightpost. And stops.

EXT. MASRY & VITITOE - DAY

A respectable building in the valley.

ROSALIND (O.S.)

Morning, Mr. Masry. How you doing

today?

INT. MASRY & VITITOE - RECEPTION - DAY

A sign over the reception desk reads: MASRY & VITITOE,

ATTORNEYS AT LAW.

ED MASRY, senior partner in the firm, enters the office and

approaches his secretary's desk. His avuncular presence masks

a savvy legal mind, and his somewhat rumpled appearance

indicates a disinterest in pretense.

ED:

Fine. You?

ROSALIND:

Did you watch it last night?

ED:

No, I was out. I taped it. Don't

tell me what happens.

ROSALIND:

(overlapping him,

excitedly)

It's sooo great...

(as he walks to office)

Your nine o'clock's already in there.

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