Diary of a Wimpy Kid

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Photograph: Rob McEwan. Courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Greg Heffley is finally becoming famous—just like he always wanted. After three years, four books and 41 weeks on the New York Times children’s best-seller list, the immensely popular series Diary of a Wimpy Kid—with Greg as is its pompous protagonist—becomes a feature film on March 19. Deliciously self-centered Greg (along with gullible best friend Rowley, annoying big brother Rodrick and little bro Manny) jumps to the big screen, where he endures one tortured year in that dreaded institution known as middle school.

"He’s in the middle—and in the middle between being a child and being an adult," says author Jeff Kinney, whose fifth book in the series is slated for later this year. "Greg’s imperfect, and all of my humor comes from his bad decision-making." It’s not easy getting kids to root for a flawed hero, but Kinney looks to Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn for guidance. "Mark Twain left it up to the readers to laugh at and have discussions about those imperfections," he says. "If you try to moralize to kids, you’re going to lose them."

Based on the first book in the series, the film version chronicles everything from Greg’s backfiring schemes and a wrestling fiasco to his embarrassment over shirts versus skins and his role as a tree in the school production of The Wizard of Oz. But in the film, Greg and Rowley’s relationship really takes center stage. "Basically, two kids who are friends stop being friends, and then you hope they’ll be friends again," says Kinney. "Kids will care about them in a way they don’t in the book."

Casting wasn’t easy. It took hundreds of audition tapes before Kinney and the filmmakers agreed that 12-year-old Zachary Gordon was the perfect Greg. "You need a person who can be a bit of a jerk, but who can get you to root for him anyway," says Kinney. Think Larry David for the recess set.

While some authors cringe at adaptations, Kinney says he and the screenwriters were in sync. In the book, dorky classmate Fregley says, "Want to see my secret freckle?" In the movie, Fregley adds: "It’s got a hair in it!" The extra punch line delighted Kinney. "My happiest moments were when they came up with a joke that was better than something I had written," he says. The filmmakers were definitely on his wavelength; when he was young, director Thor Freudenthal kept an illustrated journal, just like the crude drawings and text on ruled paper that make Kinney’s books so charming.

Still, one of the author’s biggest concerns was that the screenwriters not condescend to the audience. Kinney originally wrote the books for adults, until his publisher suggested marketing to a younger demographic. "We talked about that a lot and tried to keep up the sophistication level," says Kinney. "But, of course, there are plenty of fart and booger jokes to keep the faithful happy."

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