'Wimpy Kid' Star Really Wanted to Direct

By KAREN BUTLER - United Press International

Zachary Gordon says he had mixed feelings about being offered the lead role in "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," a film based on one of his favorite book series.

"Of course, I read the books before and loved them. But the funniest part was I told my mom and my dad and my family that I wanted to make a movie about this and I wanted to direct it, produce it, star in it, write it and do everything I could to make a movie about (character) Greg's middle school," the 12-year-old actor told UPI in New York recently. "And then about four months later, my agent called and said, 'You have an audition.' And I was bummed out because I wanted to make the movie, but I was happy because I got to go out for one of my dream roles."

Inspired by a series of books by Jeff Kinney, the movie is about Greg, a boy who sets out to be the most popular kid in his new middle school, and how his plan consistently goes awry.

Robert Capron, 11, plays Greg's devoted best friend, Rowley, in the flick, which opened at No. 2 at the U.S. box office last weekend.

Capron said he first read the book "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" when he was sleeping over at a friend's house and got up earlier in the morning than his buddy did.

"I thought, 'I might as well read it; my friends recommended this to me,'" Capron recalled. "And I loved it. I never thought I'd actually be Rowley. That seems like another dimension now."

So, what do the kids at their schools think about them starring in a big-screen version of the beloved books? "My friends were really supportive in this business when I got the role and I kept in touch with them when I did the shoot," Gordon said.

"We hadn't been to middle school before because we were filming it," added Capron who said he and Gordon started school two months later than their classmates because of the movie shoot. "I think that helped our performances because we had never experienced it before."

"But it didn't help us personally because (the movie) got us scared (about starting new schools with older kids,)" Capron said with a laugh.

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