Page One: “Erin Brockovich” (2000)

Written by Susannah Grant

A trailer for the movie:

My DePaul University colleague and writer-director Brad Riddell says this: “Movies are actor bait.” And THAT is the lesson you can take from Page One of the script for Erin Brockovich. Imagine you’re Julia Roberts and you read this:

...a pair of IMPOSSIBLY HIGH SPIKE-HEELED PUMPS struts out of a shop. So high it hurts to look at them.As the Pumps turn and head up the street, we see they are connected to a pair of IMPOSSIBLY LONG, SHAPELY LEGS. Eveready legs -- they just keep going and going.It isn't until she rounds the corner at the end of the block that we see her entire figure and appreciate why everyone is so goggle-eyed. Eye-catching is an understatement. All those folks who say Barbie's proportions are unrealistic have obviously never met ERIN BROCKOVICH.

A Protagonist who is a physical knock-out. When she passes by, everyone stares. You can’t help but stare at her.

There’s that. But there’s also this…

As the shoes leave frame, we TILT UP and see they're leaving a 99-cent store.

What does that convey? If Erin is shopping at a 99-cent store, that’s a clue she’s not well-to-do. Then this…

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

ERIN
Fuck.

Confirmed: Erin lives on the low-end of the economic pyramid. Also, the very first word she says is “fuck.” We’ve all gotten parking tickets. We’ve all been so frustrated we’ve said the F-word. We can relate to her. Then this…

Even when she talks dirty, there's a heartland goodness to her voice. Like Kansas corn fields swaying in the breeze.

Hey, Scott! That’s an unfilmable! You can’t write that in a script: Like Kansas corn fields swaying in the breeze.

Go back to where we started: Screenplays are actor bait. If you’re not writing a $200M franchise movie where the spectacle is the star, then your best shot at getting your project off the ground is to get a name actor attached. You tell me that Julia Roberts’ lips didn’t curl into a smile when she read, “Like Kansas corn fields swaying in the breeze.”

If you continue the scene to Page Two, you get this:

As she grabs the ticket from the windshield, her sunglasses
accidentally CLATTER to the ground.

ERIN
Shit.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.

Bad things continue to happen to Erin. Why? Because it ups our sympathy for her character! So in 1 1/8 pages, the script has introduced (A) a woman who looks great, (B) struggling economically, (C) has a potty mouth, but her voice is like “Kansas corn fields swaying in the breeze,” and (D) she’s having a shitty day. We like her. We’re rooting for her.

And Julia Roberts knows she can sell the holy hell out of this character’s introduction. So, she turns to Page Two… and Page Three… and the rest is Oscar history.

Screenplays are actor bait. Something to remember when you write YOUR script.

Page One is a daily Go Into The Story series featuring the first page of notable movie scripts from the classic era to contemporary times. Comparing them is an excellent way to study a variety of writing styles and see how professional writers start a story.

For more Page One posts, go here.

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