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About This Quiz
"Erin Brockovich" was based on the true story of a female legal clerk who collected enough evidence to win one of the largest settlements in history for her clients. Do you remember "Erin Brockovich?" Find out by taking this quiz.
Which actress played Erin Brockovich?
Sandra Bullock.
Julia Roberts.
Julia Roberts (born October 28, 1967) was chosen for the role and agreed to do the film before the director was chosen. After reading the script, Steven Soderbergh said he would not have chosen any other actress for the role.
Jodie Foster.
Kyra Sedgwick.
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Why did Erin go to see Mr. Masry the first time?
She was getting a divorce.
She was suing for malpractice.
She was in a car accident.
The screenwriter, Carla Santos Shamberg, first heard about Erin Brockovich while at the chiropractor. Initially, the chiropractor wanted to write the screenplay, but Shamberg became fascinated with the story of a woman who had no resources or money but was able to single-handedly prepare a successful lawsuit against a giant corporation.
She needed to make out a will.
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Finish the quote "Do they teach lawyers to apologize? ______________________."
"Because you [stink] at it."
" Do they teach lawyers to apologize? Because you [stink] at it."
"Because words don't put food on the table."
"Because you could use a few lessons."
"Because you owe me a big one."
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Why did Mr. Masry say Erin lost her case?
She did not dress up nicely.
The guy who hit her was another lawyer.
She got angry and began swearing on the stand.
Erin Brockovich really does swear. She said, "I had a potty mouth in the movie, and I still do." However, she corrects the misconception she was brought up uneducated. Her father was an industrial engineer, and her mother was an English major.
They had a videotape of her hitting him.
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How many kids does Erin have?
One.
Two.
Three.
"I couldn't take the pain killers because they made me too groggy to take care of my kids. Matthew's eight, and Katie's almost six, and Beth's just nine months."
Four.
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What did Erin see in her sink that made her jump?
Dirty dishes.
A snake.
A spider.
A cockroach.
According to Bloomberg, Tampa, FL is the most cockroach-infested city in the United States. Austin, TX, Houston, TX, Miami, FL, Orlando, FL, and San Antonio, TX are also high on the list while Detroit, MI, Minneapolis, MN, Seattle, WA and New York, NY, are the least infested. However, cities in California, where Erin lived, were not included in the study.
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What was the first job Erin Brockovich tried to get?
Working in a law office.
Working in a doctor's office.
"Um—you have no actual medical training?" "No, I have kids. Learned a lot right there."
Working as a pharmacist.
Working in an architect firm.
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Where did Erin finally find a job?
At a retail store.
A fast food restaurant.
At Mr. Masry's law office.
Others in Mr. Masry's office frequently told him to fire her. The accounting department did not like that she was not always working in the office. Other women complained about her clothing and one even measured her skirt to show Mr. Masry it was more than four inches above the knee (breaking office dress policy).
At PG&E.
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What did Mr. Masry tell Erin she should do to fit in better with the other office girls?
Not work through lunch.
Wear makeup.
Stop swearing so much.
Wear more conservative clothing.
"Uh—look, now, you may want… Now that you're working here, you may want to, uh, rethink your wardrobe a little… I think, uh, some of the girls are a little uncomfortable because of what you wear."
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How much money did Mr. Masry give Erin as an advance for the weekend right after she started working?
$100.
A deleted scene showed Erin stealing cough syrup for her baby, which really happened. The real-life Erin said it was difficult to watch Julia Roberts because, she did such a good job, it brought back memories from a not-so-good time in her life.
$50.
$20.
$10.
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What kind of chromium did the professor say was dangerous?
Chromium (II) acetate.
Hexavalent chromium.
"Then there's chrome six—hexavalent chromium—which, depending on the amounts, can be very harmful… With repeated exposure to toxic levels… anything really from chronic headaches and nosebleeds, to respiratory disease, liver failure, heart failure, reproductive failure, bone or organ deterioration plus, of course, any type of cancer."
Chromium (IV) oxide.
Chromium (III) chloride.
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What was Erin's new neighbor like?
A middle-aged, overworked woman.
A middle-aged, male biker.
George, played by Aaron Eckhart, was involved with Erin, but went his separate way. Aaron Eckhart went on to play a lawyer, Harvey Dent, in "Batman: The Dark Knight."
An older, cranky gentleman.
A female ex-convict.
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What did Erin find that was unusual in the real estate files?
Medical records and blood samples.
"Anna, with this real estate stuff, could you remind me -- because I'm a little confused -- exactly how we do it? Why are there medical records and blood samples in real estate files?"
Divorce records.
Death certificates.
Immigration records.
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What did the new babysitter do with Erin's kids that made Erin never take them back to her?
Slapped her son.
Ignored the baby when she was really sick.
Neglected to feed them all day long.
Dropped them off early at the neighbor's house without calling Erin.
Many of the side characters, such as the babysitters and Hinkley residents, were amalgamations of multiple people. They did this to protect the identities of those involved.
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Why did Erin get fired?
She didn't check in enough while she was out looking for leads.
"You've been gone for a week… That's not how we work here. You don't just leave a message and take off."
She took a day off because her kids were sick.
She found out bad things about the people hiring the law firm.
Mr. Masry discovered her house was crawling with cockroaches.
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What did Erin want to devote her entire reign as Miss Wichita to doing?
Opening used car lots.
Finding a home for every puppy.
Ending world hunger.
Miss Wichita won the Miss Kansas competition nine times and went on to compete in the Miss America pageant. In the 1920s, Miss Wichita went directly to the precursor of the Miss America pageant without first competing and becoming Miss Kansas. It wasn't until 1941 the Miss America Pageant became an annual event that also regulated state and local pageants.
Equality for women.
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What made Mr. Masry offer Erin her job back?
Mrs. Jensen would only talk to her.
He wanted to know about the chromium cancer link to the Jensen property case.
"Look, what is all this? Uh, what's the story on this cancer stuff?"
He felt guilty about taking away her way of supporting her children.
She threatened to sue him for sexual discrimination.
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How much does Mr. Masry get if they lose the court case?
$500.
Forty percent of what they would have won.
Nothing—not even expenses.
"Then I don't get anything either." "Plus, he's out all the costs."
Only the expenses he had.
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When it sunk in that PG&E had lied, what was Mrs. Jensen's first reaction?
To contact the company and ask for more money for the house.
To go to the store and buy bottled water.
To make an appointment with a doctor that PG&E did not pay.
To get her children out of the pool.
"Ashley! Shannon! Get out of the pool… Because I said so, that's why!"
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What happened to the Robinson's chickens?
They had severe tumors.
"The vets said they had a bunch of tumors and stuff, and you can see, they couldn't really walk."
They stopped laying eggs.
They were found dead next to a PG&E retention pond.
The were born without feathers.
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In addition to talking to homeowners and looking through records, what else did Erin do to gather evidence?
Interviewed company big shots and secretly recorded them.
Took water samples from around the factory.
California has the strictest drinking water regulations of 0.01 mg/L. The World Health Organization set its limit at 0.05 mg/L (set in 1996) and the Environmental Protection agency set its limit at 0.1 mg/L (set in 1991).
She collected dead and diseased farm animals.
She took photographs of PG&E personnel dumping hexavalent chromium into a river.
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Who does Erin think told PG&E about her, which prompted the nasty phone call?
Brenda.
Mr Masry.
George.
Scott.
Erin never intentionally used her looks to get what she wanted. She felt the clothing she wore was "fun" and could not understand why people judged her negatively because of it. When the screenwriter first saw Erin on her doorstep, she was also taken aback, but took the time to talk with her and soon got over it.
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What did Beth do for the first time while Erin was away researching water bills?
Take her first step.
Say her first word.
"Come to think of it, we had a pretty big event around here… Beth started talking."
Go potty on a toilet.
Stand without support.
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What didn't the company do with the ponds to prevent them from contaminating the groundwater?
Bury them deeply.
Line them.
Erin was dyslexic, and to overcome the problems it caused her, she memorized the files as she had done with other important reading material in her life.
Treat them chemically.
Set them on fire.
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What did PG&E use the hexavalent chromium to do?
As an anticorrosive.
"They used the hexachrome here, in these cooling towers, as an anticorrosive. Then, they dump the excess water into these ponds."
As a textile dye.
To preserve wood.
As a paint pigment.
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What did George buy Erin but not give her for six months?
What did George buy Erin but not give her for six months?
A gold and silver bracelet.
A gold and silver bracelet.
Pearl earrings.
One scene that was deleted showed the green, hexavalent chromium dirt under the sand. Although Erin really did find green dirt and had photos of it, it was much closer to the plant and her children were not playing in it as they were in the scene. Soderbergh did not want to exaggerate -- since the story was tragic enough as it was -- and so the scene was cut.
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How did the judge rule when Mr. Masry filed the lawsuit against PG&E?
That PG&E did not need to go to trial at that time.
That both parties needed to submit to binding arbitration.
That the case needed to go to trial.
The man who played Judge LeRoy A. Simmons was the actual judge who ruled on the lawsuit. He came out of retirement to perform the role.
That the case could move forward with some of the points.
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What did Mr. Masry give Erin when she got upset about the new partner?
A bouquet of flowers.
A diamond watch.
A car and money.
At the beginning of the movie, when Erin takes her kids to the restaurant on her last dime, the waitress that serves them is the real Erin Brockovich. Mr. Masry could also be viewed in that scene, sitting behind Julia Roberts as another customer in the restaurant.
A trophy for being "Legal Assistant of the Year."
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What made the people of Hinkley distrust the lawsuit?
Theresa was not as personable as Erin.
The lawsuit was changed to binding arbitration.
The letters they received did not explain things clearly.
All of the above.
The director filmed on location when possible. Because of this, the town hall meeting and barbeque were filled with many of the residents involved in the lawsuit. The production crew was especially careful to treat the extras with respect, so they would not get a bad feeling about the movie.
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What medical problems did Mandy Robinson have that could be linked to the hexavalent chromium?
A perforated septum.
Lung tumors.
Five miscarriages.
Mice and rats exposed to hexavalent chromium have fewer babies and more miscarriages. It is a known animal and human carcinogen, especially when inhaled. In humans, it has been shown to cause mutations, stomach problems, and excessive bleeding.
A rash that would not go away.
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How many people eventually signed the papers for arbitration?
151
634.
It was a total of five years from the time Erin began working on the case until the time it was settled (1991-1996). The company had known there was a pollution problem since 1965.
419.
97.
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What was the name of the guy who had been watching Erin at the barbeque and town meeting but didn't talk to her until they met in a bar?
Charles Embry.
Robert Morgan began a study in Hinkley in 1996—after the case was settled. In his 12-year study, he claimed the residents of Hinkley had less cancer than expected. However, he never studied or linked the amounts of hexavalent chromium present in any of the study-subjects' water after the PG&E cleanup, and most of the contaminated properties were no longer inhabited.
David Foil.
Nelson Perez.
Ted Daniels.
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What made Mr. Embry come forward?
Watching his mother suffer.
His best friends kept getting cancer.
The death of his cousin.
"My cousin passed away yesterday. He had kidney tumors, no colon: His intestines were eaten away—41 years old."
He had six months to live.
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How much did the judge give to the Jensens alone?
$5 million.
Using the residents as extras and filming on location helped improve the reality of the film. They also copied the real college degrees and memorabilia directly from the judge's office so they could be recreated on film.
$1 million.
$500,000.
$300,000
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