American Rhetoric: Movie Speech

"Eric Brockovich" (2000)

Erin Brockovich Explains the Value of PG&E's Settlement Offer to PG&E Attorneys

Ed Masry: Counselors.

Counselor Diaz: Counselors. Let's be honest, here. Twenty million dollars is more money than these people have ever dreamed of.

Erin Brockovich: See, now that pisses me off.

First of all, since the demurrer, we have more than 400 plaintiffs. And
let's be honest, we all know there are more out there. They may not be the most sophisticated people but they do know how to divide, and $20,000,000 isn't shit when you split it between them.

Ed Masry: Erin.

Erin Brockovich: Second of all, these people don't dream about being rich. They dream about being able to watch their kids swim in a pool without worrying that they'll have to have a hysterectomy at at the age of 20 like, Rosa Diaz, a client of ours; or have their spine deteriorate, like Stan Bloom, another client of ours.

So before you come back here with another lame-ass offer, l want you to think real hard about what your spine is worth, Mr. Walker; or what you expect someone to pay you for your uterus, Miss Sanchez. Then you take out your calculator and you multiply that number by a hundred. Anything less than that is a waste of our time.

By the way, we had that water brought in special for you folks.
Came from a well in Hinkley.

Counselor Diaz: I think this meeting's over.

Ed Masry: Damn right it is.