Synopsis

After losing her job and struggling to support her children, Erin Brockovich takes a position at a small law firm. While reviewing files, she uncovers evidence linking Pacific Gas and Electric Company to contaminated groundwater in Hinkley, California. With determination and unconventional methods, Erin helps build a case for the affected residents and challenges a powerful corporation.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film dramatizes the real Hinkley groundwater contamination case involving Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

• The real Erin Brockovich appears briefly as a waitress named Julia, a playful reference to Julia Roberts, who portrays her.

• Brockovich has said the movie is approximately 98 to 99 percent accurate, while acknowledging a few creative liberties. The film's "Miss Wichita" detail was invented; in reality, she was Miss Pacific Coast.

• Julia Roberts became the first actress to receive a $20 million salary for a single film when she made this movie.

• Roberts won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance. The film received five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Actress, and Best Original Screenplay.

• The production was filmed in 1999 over approximately eleven weeks, including five weeks in Ventura, California.

• Screenwriter Susannah Grant spent about a year observing Brockovich and her children while developing the screenplay.