The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary: The Next Chapter (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) Read online

  you in the right direction.

  COUNTRY

  FAIR

  20

  A FRESH START

  Audiences loved the actors who played the

  characters in the first three films, especially Zach

  Gordon, who played Greg Heffley, and Robert

  Capron, who played Greg’s best friend, Rowley

  Jefferson.

  But by the time “The Long Haul” was in

  development, Zach and Robert had grown up to

  be young men and were headed off to college. So

  there was no chance they’d be returning to their

  roles as middle-schoolers.

  21

  The great thing about cartoon characters is that no

  matter how many years go by, they never change.

  It’s too bad it’s not the same way with actors!

  While the script was being developed, the

  filmmakers started their search for a new Greg

  and Rowley. A casting announcement was made

  inviting kids to try out for the roles.

  GREG

  2007

  GREG

  2017

  CASTING

  DIARY

  of

  a

  Wimpy

  Kid

  THE

  LONG

  HAUL

  Casting for the role of: Greg Heffley and Rowley Jefferson in the

  20th Century Fox movie based upon the best selling Diary of Wimpy

  Kid series by Jeff Kinney.

  22

  Two thousand boys auditioned for each character.

  Some were experienced actors, and some were

  stepping in front of the camera for the first time.

  When actors try out for a part in a movie,

  television show, or commercial, chances are that

  they won’t get it. Most of the time, it’s not

  because of a lack of talent — it’s just that there’s

  someone else who’s a better fit for the role.

  Rejection can be hard to take, especially for a

  kid. But anyone who wants to be an actor has to

  get used to dealing with disappointment, and to

  be ready the next time a great role comes up. It’s

  all part of being a professional.

  NEXT!

  AUDITIONS

  23

  When you’re trying out for a role, it’s not so

  important how you look — it’s important that you

  can capture the SPIRIT of the character you’re

  trying out for.

  The role of Greg Heffley is tricky to cast. Greg

  is a kid who’s always looking out for himself, and

  he does some things that aren’t so admirable. But

  audiences need to LIKE Greg, or they won’t root

  for him. And if the audience isn’t rooting for

  Greg, then the movie won’t work.

  It took months to find the right Greg. In the

  end, the filmmakers chose Jason Drucker, a young

  actor who had appeared in a handful of TV shows.

  WHO FORGOT

  TO PUT WHIPPED

  CREAM IN

  MY HOT CHOCOLATE?

  I ALWAYS

  HAVE WHIPPED CREAM

  IN MY HOT CHOCOLATE!!!

  24

  Everyone who saw Jason’s audition tape knew he

  could pull off the role and get audiences to cheer

  him on.

  With his long, curly hair, Jason didn’t LOOK

  much like Greg Heffley. But that could always be

  fixed later.

  Greg’s best friend, Rowley Jefferson, is the

  opposite of Greg in many ways. He’s innocent,

  kind, and loyal, and is a happy-go-lucky kid.

  (GULP)

  SNIP

  SNIP

  25

  No one captured the essence of Rowley better

  than a young actor named Owen Asztalos, who had

  appeared in a few television shows and commercials

  before auditioning for “The Long Haul.”

  But before the filmmakers could sign off on the

  two young actors, they needed to see if the boys

  had “chemistry.”

  In movies, chemistry is the connection that two

  people have when they’re together on-screen.

  Sometimes, you can have two talented actors,

  but for some reason they don’t connect when the

  cameras roll. And if your co-stars don’t have good

  chemistry, the audience will sense it.

  26

  Fortunately, when the director had the two boys

  do a test scene, something clicked between them.

  The pair made a believable Greg and Rowley.

  The actors went home not knowing if they had

  gotten the roles. A few weeks later, the director

  called both boys to tell them the good news:

  They’d be starring in the new movie as Greg

  and Rowley. Jason and Owen couldn’t have been

  more excited.

  The two actors were each at the start of a whole

  new journey, and their lives were about to change.

  Both boys were eager to discover just where the

  road might take them.

  SLAP

  27

  CALLING ALL HEFFLEYS

  Not only was Greg recast for the new movie, but

  new actors were picked to play the rest of the

  Heffleys as well.

  Alicia Silverstone was chosen to

  play Greg’s mom, Susan. Alicia

  has had lots of memorable roles

  in films, television shows, and

  music videos. Once, she even

  played Batgirl in a Batman

  movie. In addition to being

  an actress, Alicia is famous for being an animal

  rights activist.

  Tom Everett Scott was

  picked to play Greg’s dad,

  Frank. Tom has appeared

  in lots of films as well, and

  coincidentally, his first

  starring role was alongside

  his good friend Steve Zahn,

  who played Greg’s dad in the

  first three Wimpy Kid movies.

  28

  The role of Greg’s teenage older brother,

  Rodrick, went to Charlie

  Wright, an actor whose

  movie career was starting

  to take off. Charlie came

  to his audition dressed in

  the type of outfit Rodrick

  might wear, which helped

  him get the part.

  The most challenging role to fill was Greg’s

  younger brother, Manny, because the character

  would be played not by one actor — but two.

  When a movie calls for very young children to

  play important roles, filmmakers usually cast

  twins. That way, if one of the kids is being

  uncooperative (or just needs to take a nap), the

  sibling can be swapped in.

  The kids playing Manny couldn’t be too young, or

  they wouldn’t be able to remember their lines.

  29

  But they couldn’t be too old, either, or they’d

  outgrow the part if there were future films.

  The role went to Dylan and Wyatt Walters, a pair

  of three-year-old boys. But Dylan and Wyatt

  aren’t twins, they’re triplets — they have a sister

  as well. Dylan and Wyatt had never been on

  camera before, so making a movie would be a whole

  new experience for them.

  The actors lived in different areas of the country,

  but soon they’d all be
headed to the same place,

  coming together as the Heffleys.

  30

  LOCATION, LOCATION

  One of the biggest decisions the filmmakers had

  to make was where to shoot “The Long Haul.”

  The first three Wimpy Kid movies were shot in

  Vancouver, Canada. But since the new film was

  about a family’s road trip through the United

  States, it really had to be filmed there.

  It wouldn’t be practical to shoot a movie that

  covered the kind of distance the Heffleys were

  traveling, though. A film like “The Long Haul”

  requires a cast and crew of hundreds of people,

  along with all the equipment they use to get their

  jobs done. And it’s just too expensive to move all

  that gear around every day.

  31

  The filmmakers needed to find an area in the

  United States that had a wide range of scenery.

  That way, they could make it LOOK like the

  Heffleys were traveling a great distance, even

  though all the scenes would be filmed close to one

  another.

  They decided on Georgia, a beautiful state in the

  southern U.S. with a diverse landscape.

  One of the reasons Georgia was chosen was because

  its capital is Atlanta. Many television shows and

  films are made in that city, so there are lots of

  talented people who live and work in the area.

  32

  In fact, some of today’s biggest blockbusters

  are shot in Atlanta, including many of the big

  superhero movies.

  Once Atlanta was chosen as “home base” for the

  film, the director and a small team of location

  scouts spent weeks driving all over the area,

  looking for the perfect places to capture the

  scenes described in the screenplay. They took

  pictures and video of each location they visited.

  Scouting is hard work, but it’s an important step

  in making a good movie. On the following pages

  are a handful of spots that were chosen for the

  film, and the scenes in the “Long Haul” book that

  they match up with.

  SNAP

  33

  ROLL

  ROLL

  ROLL

  SBFTT!

  GLBRF!

  SETTING IT IN MOTION

  With the final details of the script getting nailed

  down, it was time to get serious about making this

  movie. There’s a ton of work that needs to be

  done before the actors arrive and filming starts,

  and this phase is called “preproduction.”

  A team of artists, set designers, wardrobe

  specialists, prop masters, and others set up shop

  in an old elementary school in Atlanta.

  Each team took over an empty classroom to start

  doing their work.

  Diary

  of

  a

  Wimpy

  Kid

  THE

  LONG

  HAUL

  PRODUCTION

  36

  If you walked through the hallways of the school

  during preproduction for “The Long Haul,” you’d

  see a lot of crazy stuff going on. In one room,

  you’d find the prop

  master painting lips on a

  pacifier with bad teeth.

  A few feet away, you’d

  find an illustrator making

  up a “Mommy Meal” bag in

  the same handwriting as Mrs. Heffley.

  Nearby you’d see piles

  of luggage to fill

  the Heffleys’ boat,

  an assortment of

  car seats and plastic

  potties for Manny to

  sit on, and various

  cardboard signs with

  Rodrick’s handwriting

  on them.

  37

  On a cluttered table,

  you’d find a tube of

  cinnamon rolls and

  packets of icing.

  Out in the hallway,

  you’d come across the

  assistant prop master

  painting a pair of

  underwear with glue to

  make it stiff as a board so it could be flung like

  a Frisbee.

  An arm’s length away, you’d see someone mixing a

  giant vat of fake mud to splatter on the actors

  during filming.

  38

  And just outside the doorway, you’d see mannequins

  dressed in the Heffleys’ clothes to test how the

  mud would look when it

  was splattered on the

  actors.

  Down the hallway,

  you’d find a ton

  of activity in a

  room marked “Art

  Department.” This

  team’s job is to design

  everything you see

  on-screen that doesn’t

  already exist, from

  small props to giant movie sets.

  The art department taped pictures of the

  illustrations from “The Long Haul” to the walls so

  they could stay as true to the original drawings

  as possible. On the following pages are some of

  the designs created by the art department, along

  with the illustrations that inspired them.

  39

  Family

  Frolic

  ADVENTURE

  AWAITS!

  PLAN

  THE

  PERFECT

  ROAD

  TRIP!

  Family

  Frolic

  ADVENTURE

  AWAITS!

  plan

  the

  PERFECT

  ROAD

  TRIP!

  p.53

  STRESS

  TEST

  HOW

  DO

  YOU

  KNOW

  WHEN

  IT’S

  TOO

  MUCH?

  Family

  Frolic

  ADVENTURE

  AWAITS!

  TAKE

  THE

  ULTIMATE

  ROAD

  TRIP!

  HK

  CINNAMON

  ROLLS

  with Icing

  8

  Cinnamon

  Rolls

  HEAT

  MAKE

  EAT!

  1.

  HEAT

  2.

  PLACE

  3.

  BAKE

  4.

  SPREAD

  CINNAMON

  ROLLS

  PAPA

  PEPE’S

  PAPA

  PEPE’S

  pepperoni

  pizza

  ¡HOLA!

  LEARN

  TO

  SPEAK

  SPANISH

  FLUENTLY

  ¡HOLA!

  LEARN

  TO

  SPEAK

  SPANISH

  FLUENTLY

  CHEEZ

  CURLZ

  CHEEZCURLZ

  42

  Looking at some of these images, you’re probably

  wondering why the designers went to the trouble

  of putting so much detail into each design. Does

  the package of cinnamon rolls really need to

  have a list of nutrition facts, plus step-by-step

  cooking instructions? Does the microwave pizza box

  need to have the words “Cook thoroughly, enjoy

  wholeheartedly” written in itsy-bitsy pri
nt?

  The short answer is “yes.” The art department’s

  job is to make the world of the movie as complete

  as possible. This helps the actors do their jobs,

  because if their world is believable, it’s easier for

  them to pretend they’re really in it.

  Besides, the designers take a lot of pride in

  the work they do. Even if every detail doesn’t

  show up on-screen, they can feel good about a

  job well done.

  COLA

  43

  It's a Sign

  Any time you go on a road trip, you’re bound to

  see lots of interesting signs along the way. Here

  are some of the signs the production department

  created to bring the Heffleys’ journey to life.

  THE

  HIGHWAY

  1

  30TH

  ANNIVERSARY

  COUNTRY

  FAIR

  Wholesome

  fun

  for

  the

  whole

  family

  L’IL

  CRITTERS

  PETTING

  ZOO

  44

  WARNING

  HUNTING

  AREA

  All the signs for the movie

  were first created on a

  computer screen, and later

  made out of materials such

  as metal, plastic, glass, and wood. The signs were

  then “weathered” to make them look like they’d

  been outside for a while. It’s all part of creating

  a realistic world for the movie.

  But not everything is as it seems. The L’il Critters

  Petting Zoo sign looks like it’s made out of iron,

  but it’s really made out of plastic that’s painted to

  look rusty.

  45

  The effect is so convincing that when you touch

  the sign, you’re expecting it to be heavy. But it’s

  actually as light as a feather.

  Weathering signs is a real art form. Check out

  the difference between the digital design of this

  sign and the version that’s seen in the film.

  Indiana’s

  Finest

  FEED & FARM

  SUPPLY

  46

  In the movie, the Heffleys stay at a handful of

  hotels and motels, and each one has a sign that

  reflects its unique character.

  One of the motels is

  called “The Laughing