The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary Diary Of A Wimpy Kid

Go behind the scenes With Jeff Kinney and The Making of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie!

If you've ever wondered how a movie gets made, you're not alone. Author and illustrator Jeff Kinney Did not Know Either, goal When bestselling historical series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, WAS Turned Into a live-action movie by 20th Century Fox, Learned how he gets a book Adapted Into a Major Motion Picture.

Complete with photographs, script pages, storyboards sketches, costume designs and original art by Jeff Kinney, The Wimpy Kid Diary Movie Is The Perfect Companion to the bestselling series.

Posted In: Diary Of A Wimpy Kid

Annett Toala says...

As most of you know, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is now playing in theaters. Readers of Jeff Kinney's wildly popular series can finally see Greg Heffley's hilarious adventures come to life on the big screen. Coinciding with the film's release is the publication of THE WIMPY KID MOVIE DIARY, which will give you tons of insight into what it takes to turn a book into a movie (plus, it will make you laugh!).



Kinney begins by telling us all about the January 1998 "birth" of Greg Heffley, when he was first doodled into a sketch pad. Coincidentally, only one month later, Zachary Gordon, the baby destined to grow up and play the part of Greg in the Wimpy Kid movie, was born.



Kinney shows us how his ideas about a wimpy kid evolved, first into books and then into the film. We see early sketches of Greg, along with story ideas Kinney scribbled down. Just wait until you see the photo of his Wimpy Kid idea pages from his sketch pad. One page is literally crammed with snippets of ideas and drawings (Kinney says some of these single idea pages took him months to create). He worked on Wimpy Kid drawings and ideas for four years, inventing Greg and all the people and places in Greg's world. Next, he cut photocopied pages of the sketch pad into single jokes, drawings and ideas. He spent several years just pasting these scraps on big sheets of poster board. Then he began typing his ideas into a story. That book, in all its 1,300-page glory, was first published online. Eventually, Amulet Books decided to publish DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, and the rest is literary (and now film) history.



Zachary Gordon read DIARY OF A WIMPY KID and loved the book so much that he told his mother he wanted to be in a movie version if it was ever made. Little could he have guessed that his wish would someday come true!



Meanwhile, Hollywood filmmakers talked about how to transform the book into a movie. Kinney gives us (hilarious) sketches of some of these discussions. Then, step by step, we learn how a movie is made, starting with writers coming in to audition to write the screenplay. Writing a screenplay based on a book, it seems, is an intriguing and complicated process. The writers must choose what parts of the book they will use in the film, and they also add in new scenes to surprise viewers who have read the book. Lots of people have input into the screenplay, so it changes constantly.



Readers of THE WIMPY KID MOVIE DIARY get to meet some of the important people guiding the film, such as director Thor Freudenthal, who kept a diary similar to Greg's when he was a boy. (Some of his journal pages are included in the book.) Meanwhile, the search was on for actors who would bring the parts of Greg and Rowley and all the other characters in the Wimpy Kid world to life.



As Kinney walks us through the making of the film, you'll learn about things you've both wondered about and never even considered. For example, you'll discover how film crew members make such items as fake boogers and arm casts. You'll also learn exactly why Zachary Gordon gets queasy if anyone says "mashed potatoes" to him.



THE WIMPY KID MOVIE DIARY is a terrific book. Fans of the series will especially appreciate this hilarious and witty read, but even newcomers will be motivated to see the movie and read the books (though not necessarily in that order!).

Posted on September 20, 2011

Sandie Parrot says...

Any big fan of Diary of a Wimpy Kid (and these days, what middle-schooler isn't a fan of the enormously popular series?) will definitely want to take a look at the Movie Diary. It's chock-full of behind-the-scenes info and tidbits about the child actors who play Greg Heffley and his best friend Rowley, including baby pictures and some of the first sketches of Greg that Kinney produced. Many kids have a vague idea of how a movie gets made, but the book really breaks down the process step-by-step. For example, in the scene where Greg and Rowley are sledding, it's not real snow, of course. And it wasn't actually that cold on the day of shooting. The book talks about how make-up artists painted the boys' cheeks red to simulate the look of being out in cold weather. That's a little detail that might have escaped the average movie viewer.



Another interesting detail is how the location scouting was done. When the school was selected, an army of designers and set dressers came up with a school mascot, and created hundreds of items that might be found in the school, including flyers on the bulletin boards.



I enjoyed reading about the thought process behind the design of several of the main character's bedrooms. Rowley's room is supposed to reflect that his family is very well-off, that his rocket ship bed, and other stuff is really, really cool... but also a bit babyish for a typical middle-schooler. The designers had the idea that Greg is the kind of kid who pursues hobbies with a passion and then drops them. They figured that he had just finished a big "pirates" craze, which is why you see so many pirate-themed items in his room. But before that, he went through a "sports" craze, which is why his bedsheets and some items he's had longer are sports-themed. For Fregley, the designers decided because he's a cheerful misfit at school and an only child, that his parents must be older. They created a old-fashioned looking room, with vintage floral wallpaper that looks more like something you'd find at grandma's house, and clothes and bedding for him that look like they came from a thrift store. It's interesting to see how the designers take a few kernels of information from the book, and really run with it.



With plenty of photos from the set, original drawings by Kinney, and large hand-lettered type, this book will be a blazingly fast read for most, although I anticipate some readers will want to read and re-read this while they are awaiting the next book in the series.

Posted on September 20, 2011

Livia Romm says...

My son hates to read but LOVES this series of books.It is the only series he will sit down and read from start to finish.Never loses interest in them.I wish there were more!

Posted on September 21, 2011

Reva Diloreto says...

This book is for middle-school fans of the best-selling Wimpy Kid series, starring smart aleck preteen Greg Heffley. Presented as a hardback diary, it is a companion to the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie which hits theaters on March 19th. It gives the inside story on how the live-action movie was made, with a behind-the-scenes viewpoint.



As with previous Wimpy Kid books, this one is filled with funny cartoons that illustrate the text. Unlike the others, this Movie Diary has nearly 250 color photos. Now readers don't have to picture Greg as the skinny stick-figure cartoon anymore; he's a real boy, actor Zach Gordon. Among the photos are Greg's family, friends and enemies; costumes; casting; movie props; blue-screen shots; even the catering trailer from the movie set.



Scattered among the pages are real items from the filming, such as script pages, storyboards, costume sketches, floor plans and call sheets. It is interesting to get this glimpse of backstage paraphernalia.



The book shows Greg's evolution as a simple rough sketch to the current wimpy backpack-wearing cartoon. It also shows how Zach was transformed into Greg.



The book's best quality is the tried-and-true strength from the earlier books: the loose, seemingly simple cartoons on nearly every page.



On the downside: There is no table of contents or index.



Previous Wimpy Kid books include:

Diary of a Wimpy Kind

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book



-- Julie Neal, author of The Complete Walt Disney World 2010

Posted on September 22, 2011

Dalia Rutgers says...

This series is great.My seven year old loves them and reads them to me (I actually like the stories as well.)This particular book talks about the movie, giving lots of information about how the movie was made as well as about the movie itself.I have had some concerns about some of the subject matter (mischievous activities of a junior high student) not being age appropriate, but the fact that the books get her to read so much outweighs those concerns.Keep in mind that this book is slightly different than the other books as it is dedicated to talking about aspects of the movie, but it is still very enjoyable.

Posted on September 23, 2011

Curt Hustace says...

Overall, this was a good read, but not great. This goes into detail on how a movie is made. It deals with how they casted the movie, to the director, the extras and how Special Effects went into the movie. This also tells where the actors go when they're not filming their scenes.



It was interesting to see, but for me, it lacked the charm of the books.I liked how we were able to see how Greg was created from books to the movie.



It's an okay read, but nothing great.Don't look for laughs, because they're not there.

Posted on September 23, 2011

Shaquita Sobotka says...

I gave this book to a 10 year old "Wimpy Kid" worshipper.He did not expect it to be the diary of the movie.He was very disappointed.He expected it to be the movie in diary form.When he looks into it more he may get hooked because he likes to read.But after he read the first chapter, he lost interest

Posted on September 24, 2011

Christiane Gensel says...

My son came home from school with the Scholastic book order.There was a four book set of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. He already had two of the books in the set.I went on line with Amazon.com.I ordered four new hard back cover books for cheaper than what I could have ordered from Scholastic and received the books that he wanted within two days.Also, the movie of Diary of a Wimpy Kid had just come out in our area so this was perfect timing.The movie was great but the books are even better.I recommend reading the book first.I am a teacher assistant in my son's school in second grade.He is also in second grade and although the books are based on a kid in middle school this age group loves them.My son is a reluctant reader and these books have been wonderful in getting him to read more. He loves the pictures and comics throughout and the author has done an outstanding job with these books.

Posted on September 26, 2011

Selma Ogara says...

very pleased with the fast service and the price.grandson loved it.he read this book on his summer break he is 9 yrs old and just started 4th grade.

Posted on September 26, 2011

Victorina Summerford says...

I bought this book as a birthday gift for my 13 year old grandson. He liked the Wimpy Kid books at an earlier age. He seemed interested in the book but not really excited. I'm not sure he will be going to see the movie. I would not buy the book for his age group again.

Posted on September 26, 2011