 Feature
Story
The Show Must Go On
By Karen Conkel
Published: June / July 2008
Successes of a childhood friend are priceless. That is
why I was compelled and honored to write a feature about
Jim Fitzpatrick. My husband Kevin and I recently ran
into him while he was checking out a possible movie
location in Lakewood Ranch. We briefly discussed his
current and upcoming ventures and I knew his story was
one that must be shared. Because that is who Jim
Fitzpatrick is – one of the most open, pay it forward
people I have the pleasure of knowing.
His story is one of inspiration, family strength and
support, triumph and determination in the face of
repeated rejection, as well as keeping principles and
morals intact in an industry that can challenge the
strongest.
Jim’s story of his love for acting begins at age 5. His
parents Jim Sr. and Cookie took him to see The Sound of
Music at the Tampa Theater. They sat in the front row
and Jim’s Mom describes how his eyes were huge and mouth
agape as he fell in love with Julie Andrews. He knew he
must become Christopher Plummer because, “He got the
girl!” With both parents having a background in
entertainment he had a wonderful and grounded support
system.
Jim’s stage debut was at age 13 when he appeared in our
Seminole High School play titled A Thousand Clowns. He
also played on our high school football team and
accepted a football scholarship to Illinois State
University as a theater major. Jim put aside his acting
career to play professional football in the CFL and then
with the Chicago Bears and Baltimore Colts. He retired
from football in 1985 after three years with the Tampa
Bay Bandits, where he met one of the owners, Burt
Reynolds. He and Burt formed a bond and Burt was
instrumental in Jim’s Hollywood success with his
willingness to connect him with the right people and
agent. He felt Jim’s enthusiasm and passion for moving
to L.A. It was in 1985 that Jim handed his first
screenplay to Burt and told him, “Someday I want to put
you in an Academy Award winning role.” The screenplay is
called A Fonder Heart and was inspired by a childhood
friend - Jimmy’s best friend who died of bone cancer
when he was 14. He shared the screenplay with me – I
laughed, cried and my heart was touched. And guess who
is playing a lead role in the movie which starts filming
in the Tampa Bay Area this summer?
That’s right, Burt Reynolds
– along with a wonderful cast of stars! Jim just had to
wait for Burt to grow old enough to play the part
without all that cumbersome make-up!
Since 1981 Jim has appeared in over 30 plays for the
stage, 6 written, produced and directed by himself in
Los Angeles. He has also starred and guest starred in
over 50 roles in films and television, appeared in
numerous television commercials, music videos and was
even a Soap Opera Stud!
 So why am I writing about Jim Fitzpatrick in Bay Area
Business Magazine? Jim and his family - wife Jodi Knotts
and two sons, JJ and Jadon - moved back to Seminole from
Los Angeles in 2005. They wanted to be close to Jim’s
family, have a safe environment for their boys to grow
up and thrive, and move back to the “best beaches in the
world.” For the last several years Jim and Jodi have
been building the arts and film industry right here in
our Tampa Bay Area! They are working toward developing a
strong crew and talent base in this area. Jim taught me,
“Every $1 spent on a film in this area makes about $5
for our community!” Imagine the positive and steady
impact for our area! And with his focus on
family-oriented films featuring motivational role models
and heartfelt messages, what could be better?
Jim says the talent and crew base here are “growing slow
and steady” and his focus is on educating both potential
investors and homegrown talent in all aspects of the
industry. He actively trains young people ages 7-18
every Sunday in his Young Filmmakers Workshop in
Seminole. Many of his students are featured in the films
he writes, directs and produces. Scout’s Honor, “a
positive comedy where kids make the right choices,” was
filmed here and will be released this summer featuring
many NFL Football Players and sports personalities along
with local talent. His films, Scout’s Honor, Homeland
Security and A Fonder Heart, will soon begin filming
locally, as will his TV pilot Godparents.
If you can’t tell by now, Jim is a fountain of positive
energy! Not only does he own his movie production
company, PacAtlantic Pictures, based in Seminole, FL;
Five Star Films, Inc. based in L.A. with wife Jodi; AJ
Productions, the children’s G and PG film division, with
his best friend Kip Radigan; but he is also a partner in
Stargate Digital Sports which produces sports
televisions commercials and special effects. One of his
many goals is to build a three sound stage studio
potentially in the Gandy/275 area for filming and
producing movies, television and special effects. He
plans to build a school of the arts and filmmaking and
eventually develop a worldwide communication
distribution multimedia company. And in his spare time
he continues to write, coaches his sons’ baseball and
football teams, participates in celebrity and other
charity events, runs five miles per day ……… I’m both
exhausted and inspired!
 So what is Jim’s message for us fellow entrepreneurs and
future entrepreneurs? There are many and he is
abundantly happy to share them with all of us. After
all, he has been blessed with some of the best mentors
in the world.
Here are a few Jim shared with me.
From Dad
“Work harder than everyone
else.”
“Keep your clothes on! Keep
your principles and morals intact and you won’t owe
anyone anything in the end!”
“God only gives you the
dreams you are able to achieve. The rest is up to you.”
“When life becomes a
pressure cooker and you think you can’t make it to the
finish line, sing a song in your mind and watch what
happens.” This was advice when we were kids and Jim was
feeling the burn when training for the 600 yard dash.
This solution still works for him.
From Mom
“Choose an occupation you
are passionate about and you’ll be successful. That
alone will get you through the ups and downs.”
Dedication and support of
family in good times and bad. Mom was the President of
Jim’s fan club for years!
From Sports
Discipline and routine. “In
sports if you get off your routine training regimen you
are not at your best and your career slides.” The same
holds true in his current profession. Each day he sticks
to his routine of networking, writing, promoting without
fail.
“Every single day take a
step toward your ultimate goal.”
From Bob Hope
Self -promotion – every day
keep yourself in their minds with phone calls, flyers,
etc…. Jim’s philosophy is, “Meet everyone and see how
you can work together. How can you fit into each others
ultimate goals? Leave no stone unturned.”
From Sam Sheppard, Burt
Reynolds, William Hurt…
Taught him about writing and
structure.
Told Jim HOW to do things
and didn’t do it for him.
Added to his sense of never
giving up.
From his childhood best
friend Joey Boone - the inspiration for his upcoming
film, A Fonder Heart.
Appreciate what you’ve got
to the nth degree because you never know when it will be
gone.
Jim remembers Joey’s great
heart and that he appreciated and noticed everything,
even the simplest things.
It has not been all fun and games and fame for our
friend Jim. We talked seriously about some of the
obstacles and hardships he faced. Believe me when I tell
you, many of us would not have overcome some of what he
has experienced. And for every yes there have been
hundreds of no’s. Even in his sports career he was told
he would never make it in college football (yes, he did)
and professional football (yes, he did).
When I asked Jim what “No” meant to him he said,
“Inspiration – more fuel for the fire – more
determination!” He believes perseverance is his best
quality as an entrepreneur. He has never failed at
anything he has set out to do. He simply “refuses to
lose.”
The values and mindset he believes are important to
succeed in business are absolute faith, belief and “POSITIVITY”.
Jim believes God provided him with his gifts and
abilities so, “put it in his hands and there are no
worries” He knows that success is not a destination, but
instead a daily way of life and there should be NO
PLATEAU to your goals.
His industry, like others, is very competitive and
cutthroat. Jim’s success has come from knowing that the
competition is not with anyone else, but within himself,
to challenge himself on a DAILY basis. And that the most
rewarding part of our career should be teaching and
mentoring others on what we have learned. This is one of
the reasons acting is still Jim’s #1 passion, with
writing a close 2nd. He strives to make people feel
strong emotions, to share emotions and to inspire and
motivate people through his work.
He also wants us to not fear doing it all! He told me
when he and Jodi started Five Star, the two of them
wrote the screenplays, procured the theaters, acted,
hired talent, produced, directed, promoted, built the
sets, arranged the lighting – ultimate multi-tasking!
And their efforts paid off when their screenplays were
noticed, purchased and turned into films like An
American Reunion.
His balance comes from his family and friends. He and
his wife of 18 years, Jodi, “do everything together” and
you can feel the love and respect he has for her. He
also describes her as “smokin’ hot and an amazing
talent!”
Jim invites those who want to become a part of a film
industry that is “built to last” in the Tampa Bay Area
to contact him. He can be reached at PacAtlantic
Pictures by e-mail at
jim@pacatlanticpictures.com or his office phone
727-595-7135.
Welcome Home Jimmy!
back to top |
