Jeff Kinney (writer)

Jeff Kinney

Kinney at a book signing event in November 2011
Born February 19, 1971
Fort Washington, Maryland, United States of America
Alma mater University of Maryland at College Park
Occupation Author, game designer, actor
Spouse(s) Julie Kinney
Children 2
Website
www.wimpykid.com

Jeffrey Patrick "Jeff" Kinney (born February 19, 1971) is an American game designer, cartoonist, producer, actor 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. He also appeared in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film. Kinney was born and grew up in Fort Washington, Maryland, United States. He has an older brother, an older sister and a younger brother.[1] He attended the University of Maryland at College Park in the early 1990s. It was in college that Kinney created a popular comic strip, Igdoof, which ran in the campus newspaper, The Diamondback.

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series

In 2004, FunBrain and Jeff Kinney released an online version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The website made daily entries until June 2005.[2] 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.[2] To date, eleven 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.[3]

Professional work

Kinney works full-time as a writer and designer of online games.[4] He also created the kid-friendly website Poptropica, which is known by many children around the world.[5] Poptropica includes two islands called "Wimpy Wonderland" and "Wimpy Boardwalk", where the Diary of a Wimpy Kid characters and events are featured in the Poptropica universe.[5]

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series has 58 million copies in print worldwide as of 2010 and was developed into feature films for which Kinney served as executive producer and, in the case of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, as an actor.

Kinney wrote a section for Guys Read which is a book series written by a number of authors. His contribution contains elements from his Wimpy Kid books. For example, one character gave his little brother cold spaghetti and told him it was hot.

Personal life

Kinney attended Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, Maryland and lives in Plainville, Massachusetts[6] with his wife and two sons.[7]

Movies

Books

Films

A film based on the first book was released on March 19, 2010.[8] It was produced by 20th Century Fox and directed by Thor Freudenthal. The film starred Zachary Gordon as Greg Heffley,[9] 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.[10][11]

A second film, based on Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, was released on March 25, 2011. Zachary Gordon returned as Greg Heffley.[12] Steve Zahn (Frank Heffley) and Rachael Harris (Susan Heffley) also returned. The film was directed by David Bowers and the screenplay was written by Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah. A few new people appeared in the film, including Peyton List as Holly Hills.

A third film, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, based on The Last Straw and Dog Days, was released on August 3, 2012. Kinney had a small role in the film as the father of Heather Hills.

Zombie lawsuit

In 2011 Kinney filed a lawsuit against Antarctic Press over a book titled Diary of a Zombie Kid.[13] The book title was later changed to Zombie Kid Diaries.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/dec/01/diary-wimpy-kid-jeff-kinney
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". Funbrain. Family Education Network. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  3. ↑ The 2 Omar009 TIME 100: Jeff Kinney Time magazine's 2009 list of The World's Most Influential People
  4. ↑ Wimpykid.com, Jeff Kinney's webpage
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Pearson Education description
  6. ↑ Author Jeff Kinney biography and book list
  7. ↑ Author Bio from Barnes & Noble.com
  8. ↑ "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules – On Double DVD and Blu-ray Now". Diaryofawimpykidmovie.com. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
  9. ↑ Zachary Gordon cast as "Wimpy Kid" from Reuters. July 24, 2009.
  10. ↑ "Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)" on IMDb.com
  11. ↑ ""Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)" on". Comingsoon.net. March 19, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
  12. ↑ Times, Los Angeles (April 3, 2010). "'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' film sequel planned". LA Times. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  13. ↑ Rosen, Judith (Dec 22, 2011). "Wimpy Kid Goes to Court Against Zombie". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved June 30, 2014.

External links