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!
