Twentieth Century Fox

On March 4, over 800 kids crowded into the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York, N.Y., to see a special sneak preview of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The movie, based on the national bestselling book by Jeff Kinney, follows the lives of Greg Heffley and Rowley Jefferson as they navigate middle school.

Kinney and author Katherine Paterson (The Day of the Pelican, Bridge to Terabithia) attended the star-studded preview, along with the film's actors and producers. WR News student reporter Peter B. was on the scene to get the scoop about the film, which hits theaters March 19.

Zachary Gordon, 12, stars as Greg Heffley. Before he became the "wimpy kid," the California native appeared in small roles in TV shows and movies.

Peter B.: What do you like about your character?
Zachary Gordon: I like that he's not full of himself and that he never gives up.

PB: What advice do you have for kids who want to start acting?
ZG: You have a lot of rejection in this business, but never give up. Keep on trying!

PB: How do you get your schoolwork done on the movie set?
ZG: Well it's pretty difficult because we have to squeeze in three hours [of schoolwork] a day. We have to keep up with our school's regular assignments.

Robert Capron plays Rowley Jefferson, Greg's best friend. This is the first major film role for the 11-year-old actor from Rhode Island.

Peter B.: What do you like about your character?
Robert Capron: One of the things I like about my character is that he's always good-hearted. He's always optimistic. ... Another thing I like about Rowley is that he's naive, like I am.

PB: What do you like to do in your free time?
RC: I love watching movies. ... And I also really enjoy reading. I've read Harry Potter. I love those books. [And] Percy Jackson.

Brad Simpson and Nina Jacobson are the film’s producers. A producer is the person in charge on a movie set. They are responsible for all aspects of the movie, from choosing the actors to managing the budget.

Peter B.: What was the most challenging part about producing this movie?
Brad Simpson: The hardest thing was really finding [an actor to play] Greg. If we didn’t find Greg, we weren’t going to make the film. It was really tough to find the right kid. We saw thousands of kids from all over the country.

Peter B.: What was your favorite part about producing this movie?
Nina Jacobson: [The kids in the movie] were a blast. Nobody was full of themselves, or bratty, or spoiled. Everybody had fun. We had Nerf guns on set. It was a great time!

Jeff Kinney is the author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. He has written four books about Greg, Rowley, and the gang, and has a fifth book on the way. Over 24 million copies of the series have been sold so far.

Peter B.: What’s the most difficult part about being a writer?
Jeff Kinney: The hardest part is trying to stay creative, and trying to write good jokes, and making sure that what you’re writing is worth reading.

PB: Who were some of your favorite authors when you were growing up?
JK: I loved Judy Blume because I thought that she wrote stories that everybody could relate to. They were kind of simple stories. They didn’t have a lot of special effects. … They were just funny stories.

Award-winning author Katherine Paterson was recently chosen as the new National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Her responsibilities are to promote children’s literature and to encourage kids to read. One of her first duties was to attend the preview for Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Peter B.: I read that you selected the quote “Read for Your Life” to represent your message. Why did you choose this quote?
Katherine Paterson: I want [reading] to enlarge people’s lives, … to understand other people better, and understand your community better, and understand your family better.

PB: What advice do you have for kids who are interested in writing?
KP: Read. I think reading is what teaches you how language works and how a story works. … Nobody really ever taught me how to write except the books that I read.