Gire chats with child stars of 'Wimpy Kid'

The two kid stars of the new movie "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" - Zachary Gordon, 12, and Robert Capron, 11 - are in a room at Chicago's Four Seasons Hotel along with Jeff Kinney, the author of the popular "Wimpy Kid" book series. I'm on the phone with them.

Q. Mr. Kinney, how did you react to the news Time magazine named you one of the 100 most influential people?TK. When I got that call that I was one of the most influential people in the world, I really thought it was a practical joke. I tried to track it down. I wound up in the voice mail at Time magazine. Then I thought it was just a very elaborate practical joke.Q. What exactly do you influence people to do?TK. I think I get kids to read. I'm introducing kids to reading, and hopefully turning them into lifelong readers. I think you can find a lot of stories of mine you can relate to. Any kid who might be having trouble can find a laugh in one of these books.Q. Robert, what was the most difficult part of making "Wimpy Kid"?RC. It was weird because nobody believed me, that I was making a movie. They just thought I was lying and that I had skipped school for two months.Later, when they found out I was in "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," I remember them saying, "So, you're saying you're a wimp?" And I said, "No, I'm his best friend. This other kid, Zachary Gordon, he's the wimp. I'm not!"ZG. Thanks very much.RC. You're welcome.Q. Zachary, what was the toughest thing for you?ZG. Memorizing all the lines. Then, like pacing back and forth in front of a mirror and trying to figure out, now how would Greg (his character) do this? We had a coach, and she helped us, but basically we had to teach ourselves.RC. The biggest problem I had was probably screaming at someone one minute, then being kind to them the next. Like in one scene, I'm screaming my head off at Greg, saying, "You're not a good friend!" But then I had to remember he was Zachary. It was fun.Q. Mr. Kinney, does the movie do your books justice?JK. I think it does. It actually adds to it. What I thought really worked was how much you really care about these characters. You can only do that in the movie. The book is mostly just a collection of gags. The movie really delivers on an emotional level.Q. The movie reminded me of the classic "A Christmas Story."JK. That's great to hear. We looked to the "Christmas Story" for inspiration. We knew ours was a small story and the stakes weren't very high. The kids aren't going to save the world. Nobody's going to die. You just want these two kids to be friends again. I wouldn't want to speak for the producers, but I know "A Christmas Story" came up a lot while this movie was being made.Q. Robert, I hear you love the original James Bond novels by Ian Fleming. What's your favorite 007 book?RC. That's a very good question. I would say "From Russia With Love."Q. Why?RC. Remember the woman who has that knife in her shoe?Q. Rosa Klebb?RC. Yeah! In the book, she actually stabs James Bond. And I'm not sure if James Bond dies or not.Q. The last line in the book goes "Bond crashed headlong to the wine-red floor."RC. I think he died. <div class="infoBox"><h1>More Coverage</h1><div class="infoBoxContent"><div class="infoArea"><h2>Stories</h2><ul class="links"><li><a href="/story/?id=366657">Sweet 'Wimpy Kid' comically captures middle-school angst <span class="date">[03/18/10]</span></a></li></ul></div></div></div>