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Jul.21
10:25 PM ET
Monday, 21 Jul 2008
Erin Brockovich - Did The Movie Really Get It Right?
By Erin Brockovich
Universal Studios made a film titled, "Erin Brockovich", which starred Julia Roberts. Julia won an
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People ask me all the time, is the movie true and accurate? YES, the movie was true and probably 98% accurate. They took very few creative licenses.
Yes, I did dress that way. I was actually taken back by the response of many people regarding my wardrobe. I just dressed that way because it was fun and I liked it. I was taught never to judge a book by its cover. My clothing was nothing more than a cover and I have never thought that anyone was smart or stupid or anything else by the way they chose to dress.
Yes, I had a potty mouth in the movie and I still do.
On a couple of occasions I have caught the headline that I am a trash talking crusader. If you are referring to my potty mouth then I am the trash talker. No, I am not trash from the other side of the tracks. I come from quite an educated family. My dad is an industrial engineer and my mom is an English major specializing in journalism.
The biker dude was real and did in fact take care of the children. He and I parted ways in 1998.
Yes, I was a two time divorcee with three children. So what? I am remarried to Eric Ellis and the kids are all grown up. People don't realize that I started my work in the Hinkley case in 1991 when Elizabeth was only one year old. Katie was then six years old and Matthew was seven years old.
The Hinkley case settled in 1996 and I was approached about the movie and giving up my rights in 1995. It wasn't until late 1997 or 1998 that they really started gearing up for the movie, finding writer Susannah Grant and the director Steven Soderberg and eventually Julia Roberts. The movie came out in May of 2000 and the kids were then 17, 16 and 9. Five years have now passed since the first film and the kids are now 23, 21 and 15. I could not be prouder!
What PG&E did was real. Don't be fooled by other things that you have read. As early as 1965 this company knew that the facility in Hinkley, California was contaminating the ground water with high levels of hexavalent chromium and they chose to cover it up.
The movie had its positive and its negative effects on my life. I didn't aspire for this to happen. All I was doing was what was in my heart to do and that was to extend my hand of friendship, understanding and compassion towards another. Had my intentions been anything other than pure, this case, this movie and my life, as it is today would not exist.
For more about Erin, visit her website!
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