The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary

The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary: How Greg Heffley Went to Hollywood
           by Jeff Kinney

REVIEW.
With the popularity of the Wimpy Kid Series, it was only a matter of time before Hollywood came knocking on Jeff Kinney's door. But the author had no clue about how a movie is made, and so he decided it would be fun to write about the new adventure as a companion to the series.

Written in the now familiar format of the Wimpy Kid series, Jeff Kinney guides the reader through the movie-making experience including each major element along the way, starting with the evolution of Greg Heffley, the main character himself..."born" as a stick figure that would evolve and change many times before becoming the beloved figure we know today and was cast for a movie about him and the series.
This book includes the familiar format with an important plus....color photos from within the movie-making process itself, so the reader can truly experience the creation of the movie from start to finish.

Chapters include the original doodlings that led to the series itself,  sceenwriting, including how the script was "pitched" to the studio executives, casting process, location selection, storyboarding, the process of shooting, retakes, and out-takes of the movie, the role of the propmaster in film, and of course the unforeseen and spontaneous movie moments of moviemaking.

Not only is Jeff Kinney a great writer for tweens, he communicates directly and clearly to them. Although the book is close to 200 pages, it is filled with visual photos and illustrative treats of book and movie realia that few of us on the outside of production rarely see, with text concise to clarify what the reader is seeing, making the complex process of writing a book, converting it for film, and the process of filming understandable to the tween population and any age reader. Entertaining and informative, with the familiar literary character of Wimpy Kid adds up to a great nonfiction read!