Jeff Kinney
Jeff Kinney | |
|---|---|
 Kinney signs copies of Diary of a Wimpy Kid at the 2009 New York Comic Con. | |
| Born | Jeffrey Kinney February 19, 1971 Fort Washington, Maryland, USA |
| Occupation | Author, cartoonist, game designer |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Notable works | Diary of a Wimpy Kid |
| Spouse | Julie Kinney |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | |
| http://www.wimpykid.com/ | |
Jeffrey "Jeff" Kinney (born February 19, 1971) is an American game designer, cartoonist, producer, and author of children's books including the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series. He is also attributed as the creator of the child-oriented website Poptropica.
Childhood and early life
Jeffrey Kinney was born and grew up in Fort Washington, Maryland, United States. He attended the University of Maryland at College Park in the early 1990s. It was in college that Kinney created the popular comic strip, Igdoof that ran in the campus newspaper, The Diamondback. While at college, he knew that he wanted to be a cartoonist.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
In 2004, FunBrain and Kinney released an online version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The website made daily entries until June 2005.[1] The book became an instant hit. with the online version receiving about 20 million views as of 2007. When many online readers requested a printed version, Kinney agreed and in 2007, Diary of A Wimpy Kid was published.[1] To date, eight Wimpy Kid books have been released, including a do-it-yourself book and a movie diary. In 2009, Kinney was named one of Time magazine's 100 "Most Influential People" in the world.[2]
Professional work
Kinney works full-time as a writer and designer of online games.[3] He also created the kid-friendly website Poptropica, which is known by many children around the world.[4] Poptropica even includes a world called "Wimpy Wonderland", where the Diary of a Wimpy Kid characters and events are featured in the Poptropica universe.[4] The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series has 58 million copies in print worldwide as of 2010 and was developed into a feature films for which Kinney served as executive producer and, in the case of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, as an actor.
Personal life
Kinney attended Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, Maryland and lives in Plainville, Massachusetts[5] with his wife, Julie, and two sons, Will and Grant.[6]
Books
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2007)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2008)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (2008, revised and expanded in 2011)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw (2009)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (2009)
- The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary (2010, expanded in 2011)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth (2010)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever (2011)
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid 7 (2012)
Filmography
Films
Jeff Kinney announced that a film based on the first book would be produced by 20th Century Fox. The film was released on March 19, 2010, moved up from an April 2 release date.[7] It was directed by Thor Freudenthal, who also directed Hotel for Dogs. The film starred Zachary Gordon as Greg Heffley [8], Robert Capron as Rowley Jefferson, Rachael Harris as Susan Heffley, Steve Zahn as Frank Heffley, Devon Bostick as Rodrick Heffley, Connor and Owen Fielding as Manny Heffley, Chloë Grace Moretz as a new character named Angie, Grayson Russell as Fregley, Laine MacNeil as Patty Farrell, and Karan Brar as Chirag Gupta.[9][10]
A second film, based on Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, was released on March 25, 2011.Zachary Gordon returned as Greg Heffley.[11] Steve Zahn (Frank Heffley) and Rachael Harris (Susan Heffley) will also return. The film was directed by David Bowers and the screenplay was written by Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah. Principal photography began in Vancouver August 2010. A few new characters appeared in the film, including Peyton List as Holly Hills. The trailer was seen with Gulliver's Travels.
A third film, based on The Last Straw and Dog Days, will be released on August 3, 2012.It stars Zachary Gordon and Steve Zahn.
References
- ^ a b "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". Funbrain. Family Education Network. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
- ^ The 2 Omar009 TIME 100: Jeff Kinney Time magazine's 2009 list of The World's Most Influential People
- ^ Wimpykid.com, Jeff Kinney's webpage
- ^ a b Pearson Education description
- ^ Author Jeff Kinney biography and book list
- ^ Author Bio from Barnes & Noble.com
- ^ "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules – On Double DVD and Blu-ray Now". Diaryofawimpykidmovie.com. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
- ^ Zachary Gordon cast as "Wimpy Kid" from Reuters. July 24, 2009.
- ^ "Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)" on IMDb.com
- ^ ""Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)" on". Comingsoon.net. March 19, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
- ^ Times, Los Angeles (April 3, 2010). "'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' film sequel planned". LA Times. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
External links
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