Script To Screen: “Erin Brockovich”
A compelling scene from the 2000 movie Erin Brockovich, written by Susannah Grant.
A compelling scene from the 2000 movie Erin Brockovich, written by Susannah Grant.
Setup: Erin [Julia Roberts], her boss Ed Masry [Albert Finney], and their legal team vs. PGE’s lawyers to discuss the corporation’s offer to settle a lawsuit.
Here is the scene in the movie:
One way to woo an actor to a part is to give them a great monologue, especially one in which they have the chance to vent some anger. Case in point: This scene from Erin Brockovich.
Note how Julia Roberts delivers the monologue almost word for word. That’s a sign of respect for the quality of the written word.
One of the single best things you can do to learn the craft of screenwriting is to read the script while watching the movie. After all a screenplay is a blueprint to make a movie and it’s that magic of what happens between printed page and final print that can inform how you approach writing scenes. That is the purpose of Script to Screen, a Go Into The Story series where we analyze a memorable movie scene and the script pages that inspired it.
For more articles in the Script To Screen series, go here.