David Kirkpatrick, Plymouth's movie star

(Globe Staff Photo / Matthew J. Lee)

It doesn't take long to see that David Kirkpatrick is all about "the story."

The walls of his Cordage Park office in Plymouth are graced with framed quotations - his preferred form of art - ranging from the reflections of authors such as Harper Lee and J.D. Salinger, to lyrics by Joni Mitchell and passages from the Bible.

One phrase stands out: "Fiction is the great lie that reveals the greater truth." Kirkpatrick, cofounder of Plymouth Rock Studios, penned that one himself, and it reflects his view of entertainment.

"I don't think there has been a person who hasn't been touched by a movie," Kirkpatrick says. "The important thing we tried to do in Plymouth was demystify movies and entertainment, and bring it down to the essentials where it's all about the story."

This 57-year-old producer has a long list of accomplishments stemming from his career in Hollywood. He has overseen more than 200 movies, headed up major motion picture studios, and received Golden Globe and Emmy awards.

To the people of Plymouth, Kirkpatrick is the man who came to town 16 months ago with what appeared to be an unlikely promise of bringing the movie-making business to their quiet, conservative community.

He presented a vision of a studio complex that would reflect 21st-century advances that Hollywood itself has yet to achieve. And since his arrival, the community has come to believe Kirkpatrick and his colleagues enough to approve a major zoning change this year to accommodate a $400 million studio on the Waverly Oaks Golf Course and to confer 20 years of tax credits to help get the project off the ground.

In the coming year, Kirkpatrick says, the vision of Hollywood East will begin taking on a physical form. "Since we want to be open in the fourth quarter of 2010, part of the studio will be built by the end of 2009," he says. "We've got $200 million in payroll to spend on construction in laborers, carpenters, and tradesmen."

The studio is expected to employ 2,000 or more. "Jobs on the lot," as Kirkpatrick calls them, will start being filled in the spring of 2010.

"When I first met David, I walked away from that meeting thinking 'This is a very unique person,' " recalls Selectman Ken Tavares. "I thought his dream for a studio in Plymouth was beyond anything any of us could have conceived in town." But over time, Tavares and other top officials began to trust Kirkpatrick and his colleagues.

"Working in banking, I've met a lot of developers who would tell you what you wanted to hear," says Tavares. "With David, I always felt he was telling the truth. There are a lot of good people that will make this project happen, but David is the one you look at and say, 'He's the guy. He's the face of Plymouth Rock Studios.' "

Dennis Hanks, the town's economic development director and executive director of the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, says Kirkpatrick "would sit down at a kitchen table or local community meeting and talk to people. His nature is to talk to people one-on-one. That's what sold the project."

Kirkpatrick describes himself in pedestrian terms. "I'm a very hard worker," he says. "I just plod along and move things down the road like the turtle in 'The Tortoise and the Hare.' " He adds, "This world is filled with engaging and interesting people, and it's my job to connect them with this project."

When he came to town, Kirkpatrick says, he had no idea that he would stay for the long haul, "but I felt myself completely engaged in the diversity of Plymouth. You don't find that in Hollywood. It's a one-industry town. Here, people are interested in everything."

Christine Legere can be reached at christinelegere@yahoo.com.