GREG’S JOURNALS CONTINUES ON THE BIG SCREEN IN “DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: DOG DAYS”

“Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days” is the third and latest big screen installment of author Jeff Kinney’s wildly popular series of illustrated novels about wise-cracking but hapless middle school student Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon). As Greg confides to his diary (though, as he likes to point out, “It’s NOT a diary, it’s a journal!”), middle school is “the dumbest idea ever invented,” a never-ending ordeal involving – among other appalling things – wedgies, bullies, morons and swirlies. And if you don’t know what a swirly is, then lucky you.

Photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Returning with Zachary Gordon for more mayhem in the community are his brother Rodrick (Devon Bostick) who’s older but not wiser and his best friend Rowley (Robert Capron) whose wholesome outlook in life makes him the coolest kid around along with Fregley (Grayson Russell), Holly (Peyton List), Patty (Laine MacNeil) and Chirag (Karan Brar).

“Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days” is based on Kinney’s third and fourth Wimpy Kid books, The Last Straw and Dog Days.   Kinney, who worked closely with the screenwriters, producers and director, says, “We have an obligation to our readers, to make sure we’re protecting their expectations and don’t stray too far from the books.”

Simpson notes, “Some fans will ask, what happened to the third book, The Last Straw?  We incorporated elements of it into“Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days”, and we brought other elements into“Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days”.  For the latter, this enabled us to get outside of the school and do a summer-themed movie.  This was a great opportunity to expand Greg’s world.  People usually look at summer vacation as a golden time, but for Greg it’s just as tough as the school year.  Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days is a really fun book that turns summer on its head, and I think we’ve done that in the movie.  We also have some new elements that feel like they’re part of Jeff Kinney’s world.”

Indeed, the filmmakers are quick to praise Zachary’s achievements in bringing Greg Heffley to life on screen.  “I can’t imagine anyone else playing this role,” says Simpson.  “We started out, three years ago, with a stick figure in Jeff’s book, and had many discussions about what that stick figure would look like if it came to life.  We decided that it was really about attitude – a little bit of a hustler, a little bit of salesman, and of course, a wimp.  Greg is a good kid, but still trying to get ahead the way that kids do.  Zach has really nailed this role and I think it’s hard for kids, when they read the books, to imagine anyone but Zach as Greg.”

Zachary’s Greg still plays off his friends, including Rowley, and troublemaker older brother Rodrick, but “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days” also sees Greg spending more time with his dad, Frank.  Jacobson notes:  “This movie is about Greg and his father, and we get a much fuller sense of who Frank is as a character and more of an opportunity to enjoy Steve Zahn, who’s played the role in all three pictures.  And, while we’ve had the amazing comedic weapon that is Steve in our arsenal all along, it’s great to finally let it loose.”  Kinney says, “In the books, the parents are kind of background characters; Greg doesn’t even know what his father does for a living.  But Steve has done wonders with the Frank character, and adds humor to everything he does.”   Rachael Harris adds, “There are some very laugh-out-loud slapsticky things Steve does that nobody can do better.”

“Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days” is released by 20^th Century Fox and distributed by Warner Bros.

OUT-OF-SCHOOL MAYHEM WITH FRIENDS IN “DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: DOG DAYS”

In “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days,” which combines elements of both the third and fourth of the “Wimpy Kid” books, the good news is that school is out for the summer and Greg is looking forward to a vacation spent playing video games, hanging out with his best friend, Rowley, and working his way into the affections of the girl he has a crush on, Holly Hills. The bad news is that Greg Heffley being Greg Heffley, nothing is going to go as planned. 

Character poster courtesy of 20^th Century Fox

“At the start of the film Greg’s dad takes away all of his video game privileges and basically decides Greg should spend all his summer hanging out with him and doing outdoor stuff like camping and swimming,” explains Zachary Gordon.

Zachary’s Greg still plays off his friends, including Rowley, and troublemaker older brother Rodrick, but DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: DOG DAYS also sees Greg spending more time with his dad, Frank.

Robert Capron again brings his signature charm to the role of Rowley.  “He walked in and he was Rowley,” Simpson remembers of Capron’s audition for the first picture.  “He has a huge heart, is excited about life and the world, and has some of the same qualityies that Rowley has.”  

Devon Bostick returns as Greg’s older brother, Rodrick, who upon learning that Greg has been sneaking into the country club, wants to get in on the high-class action, as well.  “It’s Greg’s nightmare,” says Jacobson.  “Rodrick is loud and lazy and Greg is a little embarrassed by his brother in this movie.

Peyton List is back as Holly Hills, who had moved to town in the last movie and stole Greg’s heart.  In DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: DOG DAYS, Holly and Greg have become friends, but he wants to take it to the next level – whatever that means for someone in middle school.  “Peyton really glows,” says Simpson.  “She’s a delight to have on set and it feels like any middle school boy would have a big crush on her.” 

Also back are the oddball Fregley (Grayson Russell), a misfit among misfits, the deadpan, wise-cracking Chirag Gupta (Karan Brar); and Patty Farrell (Laine MacNeil), who is the biggest thorn in Greg’s side.  

The close-knit cast and crew were thrilled to reunite.  For the Wimpy Kid, himself, working on the film series has been nothing less than life changing. “This has been wonderful for me,” says Zachary Gordon.  “It was so much fun, even though it was a lot of hard work.  It was way better than just having a regular summer vacation!”

“Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days” opens August 15 in theaters from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

MORE TEENAGE MISADVENTURES IN “DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: DOG DAYS” MOVIE

Greg Heffley, the kid who made “wimpy” cool, is looking forward to his summer vacation in “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days” but when his dad (Steve Zahn) decides they should spend more time together, Greg does everything he can to keep his father from ruining his summer vacation.

Zachary Gordon as Greg. Photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

In “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days,” which combines elements of both the third and fourth of the “Wimpy Kid” books, the good news is that school is out for the summer and Greg is looking forward to a vacation spent playing video games, hanging out with his best friend, Rowley, and working his way into the affections of the girl he has a crush on, Holly Hills. The bad news is that Greg Heffley being Greg Heffley, nothing is going to go as planned.

“At the start of the film Greg’s dad takes away all of his video game privileges and basically decides Greg should spend all his summer hanging out with him and doing outdoor stuff like camping and swimming,” explains Zachary Gordon, the thirteen-year-old actor who plays Greg.

In school or out of school, Greg also has a tendency to get himself into painfully embarrassing situations; Zachary says that this time round his on-screen alter ego plumbs new depths of humiliation. In “Dog Days”, Greg goes one step further and loses his swimsuit in a crowded pool. Greg also has what Zachary delicately refers to as a “mishap” on a roller coaster, meaning, we’re pretty sure, that Greg throws up on his fellow passengers. For the record, Zachary admits he was a bit nervous himself when it came time to shoot the film’s roller coaster scene but after a couple of time around, he was hooked. “I went on six times in a row,” the young actor says, “It was awesome.”

“And playing Greg for a third time, I feel like I settled into it as soon as I saw the rest of the cast again. It was more like a ‘Wimpy’ reunion than coming back to work,” Zachary says, “because everyone feels like part of my family now.”

“Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days” will open August 15 in theaters from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

THIS TIME, BIG BROTHER RODRICK RULES!

Greg, the wimpy kid is back on the big screen taller and wiser but still has a lot to deal with to score points against his big brother Rodrick.  In the upcoming heartwarming family-oriented movie based on the best-selling book by Jeff Kinney of the same title “Diary of  A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules,” Greg deals with Rodrick’s attempts to ruin his whole summer. 

            Much like his electrifying drumbeats, Rodrick fries Greg in a series of unprecedented pranks enough to make Greg’s whole summer an episode of fear and embarrassment.

            Devon Bostick, returning as eldest sibling Rodrick, was thrilled the character is front and center in this second Wimpy Kid story. “The title is ‘Rodrick Rules,’ so that means, a lot more Rodrick this time,” says the young actor. “In this movie, you get to see a brighter side of Rodrick, but also a darker and goofier side.

“Rodrick torments Greg 24/7,” Devon continues. “But he feels like he’s teaching Greg some tough lessons about life.  Rodrick thinks that if Greg can get past the pranks, then he can do anything.”   The brothers eventually bond over a shared secret; are they actually becoming…friends?  “Rodrick wants to take Greg under his wing,” adds Bostick.  “Rodrick rules in a few ways: the first is ruling by being an awesome role model to his younger brother – despite the pranks Rodrick plays on Greg.  The other is that he has a set of rules that he considers the way to an easy life and he teaches these to Greg.”

Rodrick’s Rules – the worldly advice he shares with his little brother – include such pearls of wisdom as: Don’t be good at anything you don’t want to do; always lower Mom and Dad’s expectations; and never do something when someone else can do it for you.  Rodrick’s primary interest – apart from making life miserable for Greg – is the elder sibling’s band Löded Diper, in which he serves as drummer.  The band members are neither polished nor innovative, but they are enthusiastic, and Rodrick is its heart and soul. He spends more time practicing his twirls and looking good as a drummer than he does on drumming. 

Like his on-screen alter ego, Devon embraced being a rock-n-roller.  Says Simpson: “Devon really studied the drumming intensely because, even though we wanted him to be a not-great drummer, he had to play with conviction.”  For a month, Devon squeezed in as many drumming lessons as possible.  He proudly notes, “In real life, I became better than Rodrick, and in only seven days of practicing!”  

Simpson notes that when they were originally casting the role of Rodrick, “A lot of people played him as a classic bully.  But Devon had a great sense of humor about the character and had fun being the evil, torturing older brother. Once we had Devon, we knew fans would accept Rodrick because Devon makes us feel that there is some love underneath Rodrick’s attitude toward Greg.  Rodrick is just doing what older brothers do.”

“Diary of  A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules” opens April 23 in Metro Manila and Cebu theaters from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.