STACKS Kids Chat: Diary of a Wimpy Kid

_cerealfreaks_: Hi guys!

_Tman2002_: hi

_percyj99_: Hi!!!

_bmw3bug_: hi!!! lol

_kidzrul434_: Hi

_change108_: hey

_PotterGirl569_: hi

_AutoreDiEssere_: Hey! :)

_emilyrulz20_: hi

_Brendan0307_: awesome!

_JJ5597_: hey!!!!

_AndysLibrary_: Hey.

_hannahnicole14_: hi

_TheCulpster_: Hey!

_Tman2002_: im so excited about the mive

_sunjay_: hi

_skullcrusher11_: sup yall

_Joeyb99_: hi

_AutoreDiEssere_: I love live chats! :)

_bmw3bug_: this is my first!!!

_emilyrulz20_: where is jeff and zach?

_kidzrul434_: Let's get started

_Stacks_Admin_: Hi everyone, Jeff says: Hi everyone, thanks for waiting while we take care of some technical glitches...

_kidzrul434_: ok

_beflipper_: ok

_Rox_Angel_: Cool!

_emilyrulz20_: Sweet!!

_Stacks_Admin_: Jeff says: we're ready to take your questions!

_TheCulpster_: @Jeff How long did it take to write the book and getting it published the 1st time?

_Stacks_Admin_: Jeff says: it took me nine years from the time I started writing the book and I got published

_Stacks_Admin_: Jeff's signed in now! He'll be responding directly now. :)

_Joeyb99_: ok Jeff how did you come up with the idea of the books?

_Zach_Gordon_: Hey everybody it's Zach

_AutoreDiEssere_: @Zach: OMG!

_percyj99_: HI ZACH!!!

_Tman2002_: Hi Zach

_bmw3bug_: hi zach!!!

_AndysLibrary_: Hey Zach!

_JJ5597_: hey zach!

_Jeff_Kinney_: I wrote down ideas for about four years and then started writing for real.

_AboutJulianX_: @Jeff Interesting

_Zach_Gordon_: Thanks for joining the chat

_mrsmunchy_: My son and I read the books together, and he's been asking me since a week after the last book came out when we can buy the next one LOL Is there a date set for Wimpy Kid 5 yet?

_Zach_Gordon_: Jeff and I really appreciate it and yes the book is coming out November 2010

_Joeyb99_: @Zach_Gordon how does it feel to play Greg in the movie?

_Zach_Gordon_: It feels great I remember the audition process was 8 months

_kamsler_: Zach, How long have you been acting? What do you like about it?

_Zach_Gordon_: I've been acting for four years and I really enjoy being on screen

_AndysLibrary_: @Zach: Did you read the books before being in the movie?

_coolgal101_: cool

_Zach_Gordon_: @AndysLibrary: yes, I read the books about four months before I got called for the audition.

_cerealfreaks_: @Jeff What is your favorite book?

_Jeff_Kinney_: My favorite book as a kid was Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, by Judy Blume!

_TheCulpster_: @Zach How long did it take to memorize your lines? -Aaron

_Zach_Gordon_: @TheCulpster: It took about an hour for each scene, but after awhile I got the hang of it.

_AndysLibrary_: @Jeff: What is your favorite book from your series? And why?

_Jeff_Kinney_: My favorite will always be the first, because before I got it published, I hadn't had any success.

_JJ5597_: When did you guys start the tour

_Zach_Gordon_: @JJ5597: We started the tour March 3rd

_apachedaniel_: Mr Kinney did you pretty much have the final say on the movie?

_Jeff_Kinney_: I didn't have the final say, but I had lots of input. The difference between writing a book and making a movie is that writing a book is a solo project, but making a movie is collaborative.

_kidzrul434_: @jeff are some of the stuff in one of the books based of off real life? If so, which ones?

_Jeff_Kinney_: Some of them are, yes. My friend and I tried to make the world's biggest snowball.

_SkidmarkJones_: Where did you come up with the idea of the cheese touch? Was there something simular in your real life school playground?

_Jeff_Kinney_: We had Cooties in my elementary school. I wanted to create a kind of nuclear cooties :)

_ICEDEMON96_: @Zach what are you favorite kinda books to read? Fiction fantasy or real life stuff?

_Zach_Gordon_: @ICEDEMON96: I love adventure books and fantasy

_TheCulpster_: @Jeff When did you first find out your book was going to be made into a movie and what was ur reaction?

_Jeff_Kinney_: These are great questions, everyone! I sold the rights to my books in February of 2008. I was excited!

_SkidmarkJones_: @ Jeff, I loved the Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing too!!! I'm a mommy of huge fans and am a fan myself! I am wondering, was there someone from your childhood that inspired Fregley?

_Jeff_Kinney_: Not Fregley... I just wanted to create a character who seemed a little "off".

_Nickspaz10_: @Zach what are your favorite movies?

_Zach_Gordon_: @Nickspaz10: E.T. and Avatar

_Zach_Gordon_: E.T. because it was a great story

_bigodie456_: @Zach What was your faorite part of making the diary of a wimpy kid movie?

_Zach_Gordon_: @bigodie: meeting all the new people and having friends that I'll keep forever

_jimdrew_: @jeff What do you think of the movie? I think it's a little different from the books.

_Jeff_Kinney_: I think it's really good! Yep, it's a little different from the books, but we felt like we wanted to surprise the audience.

_Sonja_Stacks_Staffer_: I've been kind of quiet here letting Jeff and Zach take center stage butI have to say this is so cool!!

_dj17green_: @Jeff and Zach: Did one of u guys have a brother like manny or rodrick?

_Zach_Gordon_: I have 2 older brothers just like Rodrick so I get twice the amount of pain!

_Jeff_Kinney_: Yes and no... I have an older brother and a younger brother, but they're not exactly like Manny and Rodrick.

_Cutiebloom_: @zach why did u want to play greg

_Zach_Gordon_: Greg was very intriguing and really seemed like an out of the ordinary kid so I said to myself "Hey why not"

_apachedaniel_: Is the movie taken from ALL the books or mainly the first one?

_Zach_Gordon_: The movie is only based on the first book but if it does good in theaters we will make a couple more.

_sunjay_: @zach how do you become a actor

_Zach_Gordon_: Well when I was a young I asked my mom if i could go to acting classes and she said once I learn how to read I could or when I felt ready. When I was eight I went to an audition that the teacher of the acting class submitted me to.

_Srikar25_: how long have you been writing Jeff?

_Jeff_Kinney_: I've been writing for about 12 years now... one month longer than Zach has been alive!

_AndysLibrary_: @Jeff: What would you have been if you weren't an author?

_Jeff_Kinney_: I actually have a day job... I created a website called Poptropica, and that's my 9-5 job! So that's what I'd be doing full-time.

_AndysLibrary_: @Jeff: How did you think of the title? Diary of a Wimpy Kid?

_Jeff_Kinney_: I think it's a fun title. I think it makes kids open the book!

_The_Bigger_Dude_: @Zach What did it feel like being attacked by Patty?

_Zach_Gordon_: It felt kind of awkward being attacked by a girl, especially Patty Farrel

_apachedaniel_: Any book suggestions for die-hard "Wimpy kid" fans?

_Jeff_Kinney_: I'd recommend that you read the Judy Blume books!

_MasterM100_: @Jeff do you have any advice for young writers

_Jeff_Kinney_: Yes! I'd recommend that you outwork everyone else :)

_Srikar25_: Zach how does it feel to play a person who is a stick figure

_Zach_Gordon_: It feels kind of cool. They actually made me go through several haircuts just to get the three hairs right. They also had to put really tight clothes on me. I actually had to wear them around town to get use to them.

_Rox_Angel_: @Jeff Did you think your books would be a sucess when first writing them?

_Jeff_Kinney_: I didn't think my books even had a chance to get published! So everything past the point of publication has been a big surprise for me!

_apachedaniel_: How did you guys like the "Red Carpet" did u dress up and all

_Zach_Gordon_: We thought it was great. Nothing like going down a red carpet. We actually had to dress pretty nice.

_Sonja_Stacks_Staffer_: Everybody, change your profile mood to WIMPY!

_bmw3bug_: @Zach: is making a movie hard or just lots of fun?

_Jeff_Kinney_: It was a lot of fun pretending I was famous for a few minutes there!

_Zach_Gordon_: Its pretty hard when you have to work all the time but its a price worth paying

_bmw3bug_: @Zach: do you ever get to be a normal kid for long outside of acting?

_Zach_Gordon_: Well when I'm on set not ususally but when I'm at school, all the time

_The_Bigger_Dude_: @Zach What was the best thing you got for your twelfth birthday?

_Zach_Gordon_: I usually donate the money I get to charity, they need it more than us!

_Nickspaz10_: @Zach who are your favorite singers?

_Zach_Gordon_: The Beatles!

_writermage_: @Jeff Was it hard to draw Greg?

_Jeff_Kinney_: It is actually hard to draw Greg! His head is almost a perfect circle.

_bigodie456_: @zach How long did it take to film the movie?

_Zach_Gordon_: Send: @bigodie456 It took about three months to film the whole movie

_Sonja_Stacks_Staffer_: four more minutes left in the chat!!

_ICEDEMON96_: @Jeff what's you favorite thing to write about?

_Jeff_Kinney_: I like writing about funny childhood stories! I don't really like more serious stuff.

_Sonja_Stacks_Staffer_: Zach is mad cause my text is red!! HaHA!

_Zach_Gordon_: HEY EVERYBODY THANKS FOR COMING TO THE CHAT! lOOK FOR THE MOVIE IN THEATERS THIS FRIDAY! Your Friend,

_Zach_Gordon_: Zach

_Karen_Stacks_Staffer_: We're almost out of time!

_Karen_Stacks_Staffer_: Thanks for joining today's chat.

_Karen_Stacks_Staffer_: Any final words from our special guests?

_Jeff_Kinney_: Thanks so much, everyone! It was really fun chatting with you! Hope you like the movie!

_Zach_Gordon_: BYE! You Guys ROCK!

_sunjay_: thnx

_susyrocks_: i love these books

_AndysLibrary_: THANKS FOR COMING! I ENJOYED THIS CHAT!!! :D

_Sonja_Stacks_Staffer_: Thanks for joining us Jeff and Zach! This was so fun!

_Brendan0307_: Later Jeff!

_bmw3bug_: bye!

_bmw3bug_: yay us! yay u!

_ICEDEMON96_: @Jeff bye Jeff

_Cutiebloom_: @Zack bye

_machinepieman_: YOur awesom!

_Oogie13_: bye

_Nyayla444_: bye

_primpandas_: Bye!

_susyrocks_: you guys rock

_ICEDEMON96_: bye guys!

_writermage_: See ya Later!

_mrsmunchy_: bye!

_Rox_Angel_: @ Both BYE BYE BYE!

_ICEDEMON96_: thanks for coming

_Zach_Gordon_: Our PLeasure! Bye! See Ya!

_bmw3bug_: this was awesome! thx everyone who joined especialy Zack and Jeff!

_Rox_Angel_: See ya!

_Tman2002_: bye guys this was fun

_Zach_Gordon_: This is Zach signing out!

_Stacks_Admin_: Thanks for joining the chat everyone! We're going to post the transcript on the Ink Splot blog in a few days: http://blog.scholastic.com/ink_splot_26/ and check back on the blog also for the announcement for the next chat.