David Kirkpatrick (producer)
| David Kirkpatrick | |
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| Born | David Paul Kirkpatrick June 29, 1951 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Occupation | Film producer, screenwriter, studio executive |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | California Institute of the Arts |
| Literary movement | Transmedia |
| Notable awards | Golden Globe, Independent Spirit Award |
David Paul Kirkpatrick (born June 29, 1951) is an American film producer, studio executive and writer. He is widely known for his career at Paramount Pictures where he started as a story editor, oversaw the studio's exclusive development deal with Eddie Murphy and eventually became President of the Motion Picture Group. Kirkpatrick was chief of production at two studios at the same time, Walt Disney Pictures and Touchstone Pictures.
Kirkpatrick was raised as a Catholic in the state of Ohio. He graduated from Hudson High School in Hudson Ohio in 1969.
Kirkpatrick sold his first screenplay to Paramount at the age of 17 while still in high school and taught screenwriting at the California Institute of the Arts at the age of 18 where he received his bachelor's degree in 1974. Kirkpatrick's screenplay Dynamite Woman was produced in 1976 and distributed by New World Pictures. Shortly after, he took a position in the story department at Paramount Pictures. Kirkpatrick worked his way up the ranks at Paramount making his name by overseeing Paramount's exclusive development deal with Eddie Murphy. The arrangement resulted in several hits including the $234 million blockbuster Beverly Hills Cop.
During his years at Paramount, Kirkpatrick oversaw the successful Indiana Jones and Star Trek franchises, box office hits such as Top Gun (1986), Ghost (1990), and The Hunt for Red October (1990), and award-winning films such as Witness (1985), Terms of Endearment (1983), and Reds (1981).
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