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.

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