Erin Brockovich Movie

When Erin Brockovich entered his life, Harold Bollema was going through stressful times. He had been forced to leave his 80-acre dairy farm in Hinkley, a rural hamlet near the California desert community of Barstow, where Pacific Gas & Electric Co. operates a pumping station for natural gas that runs along a pipeline from the Texas Panhandle to the San Francisco Bay Area.

For many in Hollywood, Julia Roberts' Oscar victory is a coronation long overdue. As longtime executive Joe Roth said, "As an actress she holds more clout than any woman since Shirley Temple." She is the first female star to earn a salary on a par with her male peers--$20 million a movie. She's also the first actress whose films have earned more than $1 billion at the box office, and the only one who can guarantee a film's opening.

For many in Hollywood, Julia Roberts' Oscar victory is a coronation long overdue. As longtime executive Joe Roth said, "As an actress she holds more clout than any woman since Shirley Temple." She is the first female star to earn a salary on a par with her male peers--$20 million a movie. She's also the first actress whose films have earned more than $1 billion at the box office, and the only one who can guarantee a film's opening.

PG&E Corp., owner of California's largest utility, is facing a water pollution suit like the one featured in the movie "Erin Brockovich" after 40 California desert-town residents saw the film and went to court. The plaintiffs claim they learned of PG&E's alleged chromium contamination of ground water around Hinkley when the movie was released in March. They sued yesterday in Los Angeles Superior Court alleging negligence, wrongful death, destruction of evidence and fraud.

Erin Brockovich is now a Hollywood name, but the morning after the glitzy premiere of her movie she wasn't sleeping in or drinking celebratory champagne from a crystal flute. She spent Wednesday morning in the emergency room with her feverish daughter, like any typical parent, even one glorified on movie posters and bus placards.

Edgar Bronfman Jr. is surely kicking himself once again for thinking small on a movie that is destined to be a huge hit for his Universal Pictures. This weekend, Steven Soderbergh's based-on-a-true-story drama "Erin Brockovich" topped the charts with a gross of more than $28 million.

A former husband and an ex-boyfriend of movie subject Erin Brockovich were arrested in a videotaped sting Wednesday and charged with trying to extort about $300,000 from her and her boss, Ed Masry. Brockovich, portrayed by Julia Roberts in the current hit film "Erin Brockovich," and Masry were both present when district attorney's investigators arrested the suspects and their Century City lawyer on felony extortion charges, officials said.

Julia Roberts did it again, scoring another sizzling opening with "Erin Brockovich," which pushed its way up to a lusty $28.2-million estimate in its first three days on 2,847 screens, just shy of $10,000 a theater. That's the second-biggest March opening ever, behind "Liar, Liar" ($31.4 million); the year's second-best debut so far, behind "Scream 3" ($34.7 million); and Roberts' second-strongest opening, behind "Runaway Bride" ($35.1 million).

Westlake Village attorney Ed Masry, who has become famous as the real-life employer of movie celebrity Erin Brockovich, is being sued for allegedly firing a law firm employee for rebuffing his advances. Kissandra Cohen, 21, who earned local publicity as a child prodigy who took calculus classes at UCLA at age 11, filed a wrongful-termination suit Wednesday alleging that Masry and colleagues frequently made sexual comments, touched her inappropriately and created an unprofessional environment.

For a woman who has written the screenplays for two major movies appearing within a month of each other, Susannah Grant sounds remarkably modest. "I've had good luck," says the young screenwriter of her current successes: the critically praised, blockbuster hit "Erin Brockovich," starring Julia Roberts, and the soon-to-be-released "28 Days" with Sandra Bullock.

Westlake Village attorney Ed Masry, who has become famous as the real-life employer of movie celebrity Erin Brockovich, is being sued for allegedly firing a law firm employee for rebuffing his advances. Kissandra Cohen, 21, who earned local publicity as a child prodigy who took calculus classes at UCLA at age 11, filed a wrongful-termination suit Wednesday alleging that Masry and colleagues frequently made sexual comments, touched her inappropriately and created an unprofessional environment.

A former husband and an ex-boyfriend of movie subject Erin Brockovich were arrested in a videotaped sting Wednesday and charged with trying to extort about $300,000 from her and her boss, Ed Masry. Brockovich, portrayed by Julia Roberts in the current hit film "Erin Brockovich," and Masry were both present when district attorney's investigators arrested the suspects and their Century City lawyer on felony extortion charges, officials said.

For a woman who has written the screenplays for two major movies appearing within a month of each other, Susannah Grant sounds remarkably modest. "I've had good luck," says the young screenwriter of her current successes: the critically praised, blockbuster hit "Erin Brockovich," starring Julia Roberts, and the soon-to-be-released "28 Days" with Sandra Bullock.

Edgar Bronfman Jr. is surely kicking himself once again for thinking small on a movie that is destined to be a huge hit for his Universal Pictures. This weekend, Steven Soderbergh's based-on-a-true-story drama "Erin Brockovich" topped the charts with a gross of more than $28 million.

Julia Roberts did it again, scoring another sizzling opening with "Erin Brockovich," which pushed its way up to a lusty $28.2-million estimate in its first three days on 2,847 screens, just shy of $10,000 a theater. That's the second-biggest March opening ever, behind "Liar, Liar" ($31.4 million); the year's second-best debut so far, behind "Scream 3" ($34.7 million); and Roberts' second-strongest opening, behind "Runaway Bride" ($35.1 million).

Erin Brockovich is now a Hollywood name, but the morning after the glitzy premiere of her movie she wasn't sleeping in or drinking celebratory champagne from a crystal flute. She spent Wednesday morning in the emergency room with her feverish daughter, like any typical parent, even one glorified on movie posters and bus placards.

It's exactly 40 years since Albert Finney, one of Britain's greatest actors, made his debut as a leading man on film. In Karel Reisz's "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning," he played a young factory worker from the North of England, desperately trying to throw off the shackles of his lowly upbringing, whatever the cost to those around him. The role made the broodingly handsome Finney a star and a working-class hero here.

PG&E Corp., owner of California's largest utility, is facing a water pollution suit like the one featured in the movie "Erin Brockovich" after 40 California desert-town residents saw the film and went to court. The plaintiffs claim they learned of PG&E's alleged chromium contamination of ground water around Hinkley when the movie was released in March. They sued yesterday in Los Angeles Superior Court alleging negligence, wrongful death, destruction of evidence and fraud.

It's exactly 40 years since Albert Finney, one of Britain's greatest actors, made his debut as a leading man on film. In Karel Reisz's "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning," he played a young factory worker from the North of England, desperately trying to throw off the shackles of his lowly upbringing, whatever the cost to those around him. The role made the broodingly handsome Finney a star and a working-class hero here.

When Erin Brockovich entered his life, Harold Bollema was going through stressful times. He had been forced to leave his 80-acre dairy farm in Hinkley, a rural hamlet near the California desert community of Barstow, where Pacific Gas & Electric Co. operates a pumping station for natural gas that runs along a pipeline from the Texas Panhandle to the San Francisco Bay Area.