"This is not really a movie about a lawsuit," Soderbergh continues. "It's about a person who cannot seem to reconcile how she views herself with how others view her."

"Erin is very bright and very quick but she also has a tendency to be very confrontational. She is confrontational in two ways: the way she dresses, which is very provocative and eye-catching, almost audible it's so loud, and in her language. She has a tendency to be very colorful in the way that she expresses herself, very direct. People respond to it in a way that is interesting," he says.

Once Soderbergh agreed to direct the film, he visited Julia Roberts so they could discuss the story points they felt strongly about in the script.

Of his leading lady, Soderbergh says, "If Julia hadn't already been attached to play Erin, I would have suggested her. The role plays to all of her strengths. There is a certain irrepressibility about her that's riveting, and this character allows for all of that. But there's also something more significant, something darker at the core, with this character."

When the director first met the real Erin Brockovich and talked to her about herself and the story, he was amazed to find that she had a very similar energy to Roberts. "There's an inherent charisma and a light in the eye that is very similar and very compelling. Both in person and on the screen Julia has an undeniable energy that is difficult to resist," says Soderbergh.

"As a person, Erin really intrigues me," Roberts confesses. "I have great admiration for what she stands for. A lot of women in our culture are facing being a single mother, trying to make ends meet. They are the heroes of our time, aren't they?"

Roberts continues, "What's nice about the story is that it's about a person in a very specific situation, which early on, is also a dire one. Erin is incredibly self-assured and that is the key that enables her to prevail in all situations. She is who she is and doesn't change for anybody-which is what makes her such a remarkable individual. She can be in a situation where she's completely out of place and have no awareness of that and just focus on what the issue is at hand."

Erin Brockovich's initial interest was in what she thought to be a simple real-estate case.

"Ed gave her a job because he felt sorry for her," says Ms. Shamberg. "No one thought this girl would be able to do anything but file. She pretty much offended everybody because not only is she beautiful, but she's brash and takes no prisoners. Then she proved herself to be quite brilliant."