We recently had the chance to sit down with Jeff Kinney, author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, and one of the producers of the second movie, Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Rodrick Rules. We screened the movie, which was refreshing and fun, and got to chat with a few other writers.
Mr. Jeff Kinney: It’s nice to meet all of you.
Question: What does it feel like to be the hero of every kid in the United States?
JK: That's funny. I think that they would be disappointed if they saw me in real life. I really didn't write these books for kids. I was trying to write one big fat book for adults. I worked on it for about eight years. And then, my publisher said that they thought that I'd written a children's series.
It was kind of a shock to my system, after working for that long. For the book to go out into the world as a kid's series, and for it to be successful has been, it feels like the Truman Show. Nothing feels real to me.
Q: You said that originally you were just thinking of one book geared towards adults. What was the concept of that book?
JK: It was basically the same book, but I saw it through a different lens. I saw it as a nostalgic book. Something similar to The Wonder Years or A Christmas Story, where there's an adult looking back on their childhood. Books are the best when they feel true, and when they feel like ordinary stories. I think everybody can relate to having a sibling.
Q: How autobiographical are the books?
JK: That's a good question. I can't even tell myself anymore. There's definitely a lot of my own experience baked into these stories, but then it's been through the wash so many times that I can't even really remember what's true and what's not.
Then, you have screenwriters who are reinterpreting things a little bit. So, it's a real mix of fact and fiction.
Q: When you originally had the concept for the adult book and then it got changed to a kids' series, what did you change about it?
JK: That was the thing that surprised me the most is that I really didn't have to change almost anything. My sensibilities are very G rated anyway. I'm obsessed with not creating anything bad in the world. I'm shocked that I couldn't see that I was writing for children all along.
There's a great Steven Wright line where he says, "I wrote a children's book, but I didn't do it on purpose." And that's what happened to me, too.
Q: Do you have children?
JK: I do. I have a five-year old and an eight-year old.
Q: Boys or girls?
JK: Two boys. It's really fun because when I wrote these books, I was doing a lot of thinking on my own childhood and trying to remember what it felt like to be a kid. And now, I'm seeing childhood through their eyes. My life is very, very normal. The only time it's different is when I do something like this.
My normal life is just like anybody else's. I'm involved in the Cub Scouts. And I just ride my bike around the cul-de-sac and take my dog's poop samples into the vet to check for viruses and things like that.
My life goes back and forth between really abnormal moments and normal moments.
Q: What do your kids think of the books and the movies?
JK: They like them. I think my five-year old was a little bit scared because there are some bully moments in that movie. They seem to get a kick out of it. Although we own the DVD of the first movie, I don't think that they have asked to put it in yet. I think they saw it enough, which was twice in two weeks. That was enough for them.
My kids get a kick out of all of this. They definitely don't take me too seriously or think of me as being different than any other parent. But then they get the perks, such as going to the Kids' Choice Awards and stuff like that. They enjoy that, too.
Q: There is the integration of the comic in the movie. How do you do that? Do you provide them with the illustrations?
JK: Yes, I provide the animators with the key frames, which are sort of the still shots. Then they bring it to life. I work closely with them through the process. Hopefully, it looks like it was born from the books.
Q: Did you work at all with them on casting?
JK: Yes, in the first movie I gave a lot of input on the principal actors. Greg in particular was very difficult to find because we had to find a kid who could be a bit of a jerk but was also likeable, and that was hard to do. I think that Zach Gordon was up for the task. Rowley was easy. We found Robert and he was in.
And Rodrick was a real find as well. He was not a big character in the first movie and he really needed to carry big parts of the second movie. I feel that he brought something to that character that's not in the character in the books. He did a great job.
Q: How involved were you with the actual casting of the kids?
JK: I gave input. I think what it said in the contract is that I had meaningful input. I saw lots and lots of audition tapes, hundreds of them, and clips of the kids. Then I would tell the producers who I liked. And luckily, who I liked was usually who they liked. It felt as if I was a big part of the process.
Q: How do you translate the drawings into real people? What are your feelings about that?
JK: I have complicated feelings about it. I felt as if it was pretty simple because, everybody who read for Greg read the same monologue. The monologue is full of bluster and arrogance. You also have to like the person who's saying the words.
I felt that Zach Gordon was the kid who put those two parts together. There were lots of kids who got the arrogance part right but not the likeability part. I felt as if Greg Heffley is a tough role to pull off.
It's a balancing act. The point of Greg Heffley is that he's not a perfect kid. The humor comes from him being flawed. Then some people don't like that he's flawed. It's a really tough thing to pull off.
And in the second movie, luckily, Greg plays more of the victim. And I think that you empathize with him more.
JK: What was really interesting to me is when we came out of the movie screening. The moms like the movie the most. At the heart of the story is a mother's story. Rachael Harris does a great job as the mom. She's sweet and misguided in some ways. Some of my ideas for Diary of a Wimpy Kid come from my own wife. We'll plan a big birthday party with all of my son's friends, then my wife will send out a note to everybody that says, "No toys, please, but you can bring a book."
I'm sure when my son gets a stack of books on his sixth birthday that he will be thrilled with that. That’s something that Susan Heffley definitely would do.
Q: Why should parents bring their kids to see this movie?
JK: We've offered up a wholesome feel-good family comedy. I feel good about what we've created and that it's a good contribution. It's a good movie to bring your kids to.
As far as my books go, people ask me what I'm trying to do with the books and what I hope to accomplish. I'm just trying to provide entertainment; I don't have any goal beyond that. What seems to have happened is that it's turned kids onto the idea of reading. There’s the idea that they can pick up a book and be entertained.
