Erin Brockovich Page #9

Toward the end of the letter there are two columns. One is

headed:
"IN RANGE". The other: "OUT OF RANGE". Under that

head appear the following: "lymphocytes, T-lymphocytes,

natural killer cells, T Helpers, T8 suppressor cells"...

Erin stares at it, confused.

INT. ED'S OFFICE - DAY

Ed sits at his desk, working. There's a knock.

ED:

Yeah.

Erin enters, holding a file.

ERIN:

Hi. Sorry. Would you mind if I

investigated this a little further?

ED:

Investigated what?

ERIN:

This real estate thing with the

Irvings. The pro bono case...

ED:

(overlap)

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah..

ERIN:

(overlap)

See, yeah... I just want to make

sure I'm understanding what I'm

reading. So you do mind?

ED:

No, go ahead.

ERIN:

Great. Thanks.

Erin exits. Ed returns to his work.

EXT. L.A. FREEWAY - DAY

The beat-up old Hyundai heads east out of L.A.

EXT. HINKLEY, CA - DAY

This is a dry, desolate part of California. No downtown, no

community. Just tract after tract of arid farmland, with

small, bland, unprotected ranch home cropping up out of

landscape like occasional tombstones.

A beat-up old sign on the road reads: "HINKLEY, CA. POP:"

but the corner where the number would be has broken off.

As a gust of wind lifts dust from the fields, Erin turns

onto Community Boulevard, the main road that cuts through

Hinkley.

In doing so, she passes a nearby UTILITY PLANT. Its criss-

crossing PIPES and large COOLING TOWERS stand out clearly

against the flat, dry fields. Erin doesn't notice.

INT. ERIN'S HYUNDAI - DAY

Erin cruises through the neighborhood, looking at a piece of

paper with the Irvings' address on it. This area has seen

better days -- many of the houses have been razed, leaving

heaps of lumber and wire behind.

EXT. DONNA IRVING'S HOUSE - DAY

A generic ranch home standing all alone in the middle of

nothing. There's a pool out back and a chain link fence

hugging the property. No landscaping. Dull, but clean. A few

BOTTLES OF SPRING WATER wait by the door.

The Hyundai pulls into the driveway and stops. Erin gets

out. As she heads up to the door, her spike heels sink into

the dirt. She rings the bell. It has a melody chime.

DONNA IRVING opens the door. She's 35, petite, with a scrappy,

high-strung manner. She's wearing tight jeans, and her dark

curls are piled on top of her head.

ERIN:

Hi. Donna Irving?

DONNA:

Yes?

ERIN:

I'm Erin Brockovich, from Masry &

Vititoe?

DONNA:

(a little surprised)

You're a lawyer?

ERIN:

Hell, no. I hate lawyers. I just

work for them. You got a minute?

INT. THE IRVINGS' HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY

The house is furnished with little money, but lots of care.

Erin's on a plaid couch, in a sea of needle point pillows.

Out back, two GIRLS, ages 9 and 11, are playing in a pool.

ERIN:

This is a real nice place you got

here.

DONNA (O.S.)

Well it oughta be, with all the work

I put into it.

She comes out from the kitchen with a tray of iced tea.

DONNA:

I added air conditioning, put in the

pool, made all those pillows by

hand...

ERIN:

Yeah? I should learn to do stuff

like that. They make the place feel

real homey.

Donna corrects the positioning on a couple of pillows.

DONNA:

Thank you. I think so too. That's

why I'm being such a stickler on

this house price thing. I don't mean

to be a pain in PG&E's backside,

especially after all they've done

for Hinkley, but I look around here

and I think, if they want this place,

they're gonna have to pay for it.

And I don't just mean pay for the

house; I'd like them to pay me for

the trouble of starting over.

ERIN:

So you didn't have the house up for

sale -- they just came to you and

wanted buy it?

DONNA:

Yeah. I don't want move. Uproot the

kids. And besides the moving, there's

decorating a new place, and if the

windows aren't the same size, you

know -- you're making all new

curtains. Honest to God, I don't

know if I have the energy. You know,

I've been sick. Me and Pete both

have.

ERIN:

Yeah, I'm real glad you brought that

up. I was going through your file

here, and I ran into these medical

records. They kinda surprised me --

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