Erin Brockovich still finds it hard to believe how much her life has changed since Julia Roberts starred in the movie bearing her name.
"Sometimes I'm tempted to pinch myself to see if it's all true," Brockovich said. "I'm doing speaking engagements all over the country. I've got a book coming out next year. It's been hectic but fun."
Brockovich also found time to participate in an "American Justice" documentary airing at 8 p.m. today on A&E. It purports to tell the true story of her involvement in the legal battle against the Pacific Gas and Electric Co., which was the inspiration of the movie.
In the film, PG&E officials were painted as classic black-hatted villains without a heart. The documentary, however, questions that depiction. It attempts to find out if the company's water containing the hazardous element chromium 6 really did sicken the entire town of Hinkley, Calif. It's soon apparent that we may never know for sure.
Not surprisingly, the lawyers who represented PG&E say there is no real evidence that chromium 6-laced water can damage the bodies of those who drink it. And, of course, the legal team representing the townspeople of Hinkley says the opposite. But even the scientists interviewed are divided on the effects of chromium 6.
That the documentary brings the controversy to light doesn't bother Brockovich, a 1978 graduate of Lawrence High School. Her name at LHS was Erin Pattee.
"They had me come in and shoot my segments for the documentary and that was my involvement in it," Brockovich said. "I knew they would explore both sides of the issue."
Her opinion, however, remains unchanged. "You have to believe that when you drink a poison or inhale a poison that it could make you sick."
The movie may have ignored some points in the case, but it appears that Roberts' depiction of the sassy, determined Brockovich was right on target. Brockovich, who offered her thoughts during a cell phone call from Chicago, thinks it was.
"I thought Julia Roberts was stunning in the role," Brockovich said. "I'm really proud of the film. It was a great experience working with some really neat people."
"Erin Brockovich" the movie is in the running for five Oscars, including a best actress nomination for Roberts. Brockovich plans to attend the Academy Awards March 25.
"I'm pulling for them and obviously I think they deserve the awards," Brockovich said.
The publicity garnered from the movie has enabled Brockovich to get involved in numerous causes similar to the Hinkley case.
"I really like getting out and meeting and speaking to people," Brockovich said. "I'm just tickled pink to find so many heroes in this world standing up for their rights."
None of it might have happened had Brockovich not had a car wreck and gone to a chiropractor for relief.
"I would tell (the chiropractor) stories about Hinkley. She knew (producer) Michael Shamberg and told him 'There is this woman you ought to do a movie about.'"
At the time, Brockovich was a single mother with three kids from two failed marriages, working for a small law firm.
She was assigned to look into the Hinkley because it was thought to be unimportant. But Brockovich soon discovered the case had the potential to be something big and she became obsessed with it.
It was a Hollywood script writer's dream scrappy underdog vs. big business. Soon Brockovich's life would change forever.
"If someone had told me five years ago that they'd be making a movie about my life and Julia Roberts would play me, I would have laughed loudly," Brockovich said. "It has been something."
Her life also has been changed in another way. In 1998, she married actor Eric Ellis. They're still together.
"Erin and Eric," Brockovich laughed. "That sounds kind of like some Hollywood idea, too, doesn't it?"
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