Behind the Scenes with Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (Interview and #GIVEAWAY)
An Interview with Jeff Kinney
By: Ashley
Hopefully you’ve had a chance to read one of Jeff Kinney’s hilarious children’s novels from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. I’d also say that hopefully you’ve had a chance to catch one of the first two Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies! On August 3, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days will be coming to theatres. With all of the success that surrounds the book series and the first 2 movies, Dog Days is sure to be great movie!
Here’s a quick little piece of Wimpy Kid food for thought. Did you know that the book has been translated into 40 languages? How crazy is that? It definitely goes to show just how popular these books are! Mr. Kinney even commented, “There have been languages that the book’s been translated into that I didn’t even know existed! Like… Catalan!”
When I was getting ready for the interview, I read that Brad Simpson (producer) from the film said Jeff Kinney “is the glue that holds the films together.” Steve Zahn (co-star) continued to add that some of the success the stories (on paper and film) have experienced is because “they’re told from the perspective of a kid, and Jeff is still a kid.” I had to ask about this during the interview and the truth behind the characters is definitely important to Kinney. He said that one of the best compliments he ever received (critically), “somebody said that they couldn’t sense the adult behind Greg Hefley (the main character).” Kinney continued to say that he took that as “a huge complement because (he) worked really hard at remembering what I was like to be a kid.”
So wonderful to hear about an author who supports his characters and does whatever he can to keep them true!
When looking at the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies, you might notice that there aren’t really any strong female characters. I asked Mr. Kinney about this, and was curious to hear if there were any plans to change that. According to Jeff (Kinney), “there’s a message to readers that Greg doesn’t understand girls…” Does that mean we’ll never get to know a lady in the Wimpy Kid Universe? Of course not! Kinney says “I found reason to create a character who was a female as a possible love interest the book (Dog Days).” After spending so much time on Greg and the other Wimpy Kid staples, Jeff realized, “Wow, I’m really going to have give her a personality!”
Does that mean we’ll be meeting Greg’s girlfriend one day? I think that would be pretty cool.
Winning a great Diary of a Wimpy Kid prize pack would be another pretty cool thing! Want to enter? Just follow the directions in the Rafflecopter below.
This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winner, Shanta S.
Please see the giveaway rules
