More movie tour... and the movie is out!

Hi everyone-

Here's a report of the second leg of the media tour, leading up to the grand finale.

March 13th: Robert Capron's family and mine joined forces and invited some family and friends to a special screening of the movie in New England. We had a great time, and it was great to see Robert get the praise he deserves for his portrayal of Rowley.

March 14th: Another special screening, this time for my family and friends in Virginia, near the area where I grew up. This was a special event for me, because my brother, Scott, has a song in the movie, and it was a lot of fun to be there for his song's big debut.

March 15th: Back on the road for the last week of our media tour! We started off the week in New York, where we did a "press junket." For the press junket, we sat down in front of the t.v. cameras and took interview after interview. Every five minutes or so, a new interviewer would walk in the room, sit down, and start asking questions. This went on for about six hours. It was fun, but exhausting. I don't know how movie stars do it! Zach and Robert handled their interviews like pros.

March 16th: We started our day bright and early on the Today Show. It was a blast. Al Roker immediately asked Zach about a scene in the movie where he pees on Rodrick. It was hysterical. After that, we did a few more t.v. and radio interviews. We were horsing around a lot when the cameras were on and got a talking-to from Zach's mom about "professionalism." We ended our night at a New York Rangers hockey game.

March 17th: We traveled to Stamford, Connecticut, to officially launch the Wimpy Kid Movie Diary, the book I wrote about the movie-making process. Thor Freudenthal, the talented director of the movie, came out to join us on stage and to sign posters afterwards.

March 18th: Just one day until the movie's release! We spent Thursday at Riverside Elementary in Fairfax, Viriginia. Riverside Elementary won the School Library Journal's contest and got to have a special premiere of the movie in their gym. It was a very cool Hollywood-type event, with a red carpet and everything. The school's safety patrols handled security, which I thought was genius.

March 19th: The end of the road. We all headed back home. I rode back on the plane and sat next to Robert. I knew it was the last day Zach and Robert would be anonymous. After the movie came out, they'd be stars. It was great sharing this experience with them. I'll never forget it!

March 20th: Success! The movie did really well at the box office over the weekend. Everyone is hoping this means we'll get to make a sequel. Thanks, everyone, for coming out to see the movie!

The movie comes out on March 19th!

These are exciting times in the Wimpy World... the feature film comes out on Friday, March 19th!

You might've seen billboards or television ads by now. Check out the movie website by clicking here. It's got tons of fun stuff to do, and you can see clips from the film.

Also, check out Cartoon Network's awesome Diary of a Wimpy Kid microsite, where you can see exclusive behind-the-scenes footage!

I've been on a media tour with the two stars, Zach Gordon (who plays Greg) and Robert Capron (who plays Rowley). These are two great kids and they are a load of fun to be around.

I'll be posting from the road in the next few days and telling you about our adventures on this tour. Here are the highlights of what we've done so far.

March 4th: We kicked off the tour in New York City with a special screening for 600 kids in New York. We got interviewed by new Children's Literature Ambassador Katherine Paterson, who wrote classics like Bridge to Terabithia. We got to walk the read carpet and meet fans of the books. It was a blast!

March 5th: We had our big television debut in Boston. We appeared on a few different stations and got to experience the excitement of live television. Then we headed back to the hotel where we sat down for a round of newspaper interviews. Then we visited a school, where the mayor declared it "Diary of a Wimpy Kid Day" in Boston. We started spotting movie posters on billboards and buses, which was really exciting. We started a contest to see who could spot the most ads. As of right now, Zach is winning with nine.

March 6th: We had a day off, which we spent together in my home town. All of our families had a lot of fun over a spaghetti dinner. It was awesome seeing my own kids interacting with these future movie stars. For the record, my four-year-old beat Zach in a game of Super Mario Kart.

March 7th: Back on the road, this time for a Philadelphia Flyers game. They showed the movie trailer on the JumboTron, and we got interviewed as well. Then we signed posters in the lobby. The highlight of the night was when two of the hockey players got in a fight, and one of them seemed more interested in fixing his hair than actually fighting. Zach has been mimicking the guy ever since.

March 8th: We had a round of television and print interviews in our hotel. It was very cool.... they set up a t.v. studio in a ballroom at the hotel, and that's where we did our interviews. Robert told us that he got interested in acting after he memorized lines from Thomas the Tank Engine. Afterwards, we went to the Philadelphia Free Library and met a few hundred enthusiastic fans. We had a great time there.

March 9th: Off to Atlanta. We had a big event at Kid Empowerment Day and played a giant game of Wimpy Kid Says. I have to admit I got tricked and dropped out of the game early. Zach and Robert made it to the bitter end.

March 10th: From Atlanta, we went to Chicago, the Windy City. We did a book signing for about 600 kids in a giant Borders store. It was great to share the signing table with Zach and Robert, who have become pros. The fans were great and we had an awesome time!

March 11th: We did press interviews in our hotel in Chicago, and then I headed back home to Boston. The boys stayed behind for some schooling (ha!). We're all excited to get back together in New York and do this for one more week! Check back in to see what we're up to!