OTHER BOOKS BY JEFF KINNEY

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down

The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book

The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary

COMING SOON: MORE DIARY OF A WIMPY KID

Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for
and may be obtained from the Library of Congress.

ISBN 978-1-4197-2752-8
eISBN 978-1-68335-193-1

Copyright © 2017 Wimpy Kid, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid motion picture elements copyright © 2017 Twentieth
Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved. The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary:
The Next Chapter (excluding motion picture elements or as noted below)
© 2017 Wimpy Kid, Inc.

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, WIMPY KID and the Greg Heffley image are
trademarks of Wimpy Kid, Inc. All rights reserved.

Film unit photography by Dan McFadden

Photos on pages 58, 60–62, 66, 74, 78 (bottom), 81, 84, 87, 88,
119 (middle), 128 (middle), 133 (bottom), 135 (top), 153,
164 (bottom), 165 (top), 173 (top), 178, and 179 copyright © 2017 David Bowers

Photo on page 198 (top) © 2017 Carol Tresan

Photos on pages 36, 37 (bottom), 38, 39, 46 (top), 59,
71 (bottom), 120, 124, 137, and 197 copyright © 2017 Jeff Kinney

Photos on pages 4, 5, and 190 used under license from iStockPhoto
Models on pages 42 and 113 used under license from iStockPhoto
Photograph on page 169 used under license
from Moviestore Collection Ltd/Alamy Stock Photos
Photograph on page 170 used under license from Photo 12/Alamy Stock Photos

Book and cover design by Jeff Kinney

Published in 2017 by Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved. No

portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted

in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording,

or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. Amulet Books and

Amulet Paperbacks are registered trademarks of Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

Amulet Books are available at special discounts when purchased in quantity

for premiums and promotions as well as fundraising or educational use.

Special editions can also be created to specification. For details, contact

specialsales@abramsbooks.com or the address below.

ABRAMS The Art of Books

115 West 18th Street,

New York,

NY 10011

abramsbooks.com

TO JASON

The Road to “The Long Haul”

Making a movie is a lot like going on a road trip.
You start out with an idea of where you’d like to

go, you make plans, and eventually you head off on
your journey. There might be a few detours, and

there are bound to be a few bumps along the way.

But if everything goes as planned, you’ll end up
where you wanted to be, and you’ll feel good about

your accomplishment. And more often than not,
the trip will change you for the better.

This book is about the making of “Diary of a
Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul.” Moviemaking is full

of twists and turns, so there’s a lot of ground to
cover. But every trip, and every story, starts at

the beginning.

A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE

Like many movies, “The Long Haul” was a book
before it became a film. And like many of the

books in the Wimpy Kid series, this one was
inspired by real-life events.

“The Long Haul” can trace its origins all the way
back to the 1970s, when the Kinney family had a

number of memorable, and awful, road trips.

Back in those days, the minivan hadn’t been
invented, so families tended to get around in

station wagons, which weren’t nearly as spacious.

SERVICE

STATION

20 MILES

2

If the Kinneys wanted to go somewhere far from
home, they almost always drove. But a lot can go

wrong on the road.

There was the time the Kinneys locked themselves
out of the station wagon. Then there was the

time one of the Kinney kids threw up in the
backseat before they even got out of the driveway.

And the time the Kinneys went camping in the
mountains, and had to sleep in the car when a

bear invaded the campsite. That might sound hard
to believe, but it really happened.

Two stories in particular became the inspiration
for scenes in “The Long Haul.” And both involve

animals getting loose in the car.

SNUFFLE

GRUNT

3

The Kinney kids were raised in Maryland, where in
the summertime it’s common for a family to pick up

a bushel of crabs at a roadside stand on the way
home. That means driving with a paper bag full of

live crabs.

One summer night, the car hit a pothole, and the
paper bag tipped over. The crabs ran wild on

the floor of the station wagon, and the terrified
Kinney kids squealed in horror in the backseat.

Forty years later, that episode inspired the
seagull scene in the book “The Long Haul.” The

details are all changed, but the idea is the same:
It’s terrifying to be trapped in a small space with

panicked animals.

4

Another near-disaster occurred when the family’s
pet rabbit, Frisky, somehow got out of its cage in

the back of the station wagon and tried to squirm
through the back window.

But Mrs. Kinney saved the day by leaping from
the front seat to the back and grabbing the

rabbit’s hind legs before it had a chance to
become roadkill.

SCREAM!

SCREECH!

SMACK

BONK

5

Later on, this became the inspiration for a scene
in “The Long Haul,” when the pig gets out of its

cooler and tries to escape.

Most families have at least one road-trip horror
story just like these.

And that was the idea
for “The Long Haul” —

if Greg Heffley and his
family went on a road

trip across the country,
what are all the things

that could go wrong?

WRIGGLE

SQUIRM

EASY AS ONE-TWO-THREE

In 2015, there were ten Wimpy Kid books, and
three of them had already been made into movies.

“The Long Haul” was the first Wimpy Kid book
that was actually written with a movie in mind. And

the timing was perfect: The studio had started to
think about making a new Wimpy Kid movie.

Everyone agreed, “The Long Haul” was a great
idea for the next film. The first three movies were

set in the Heffleys’ town, but this was a chance
to get Greg and his family out of their regular

world and on the road.

7

But the movie would have to be different from the
book. If you’ve ever seen a movie that’s based on

a book you’ve read, you’ve probably noticed that
there are a lot of changes. That’s because if you

film a book exactly the way it’s written, chances
are it won’t make a very good movie.

Even though every movie is different, audiences
expect certain things to happen when they’re

watching a film. Almost all movies are written in
three sections called “acts.” Let’s take a look at

what happens in each act, using one of Greg and
Rowley’s movies as an example.

Night

of

the

NIGHT

CRAWLERS

8

ACT ONE

We meet the main character, or “hero.”

We learn about the hero’s world and the problems
the hero faces.

Hi,

I’m

Bob.

I live in

a tiny

apartment.

My fridge

is broke

and it always

makes

stuff way too

cold!

I have

a

roommate

roommate named Dave

who is

SO lazy.

Dave,

you

left your

socks in the

sink!

zzzz

You

gotta

chill,

bro.

FROZEN

SOLID

Something unexpected happens.

The hero is faced with a big decision.

ONE NIGHT BOB

COMES HOME

FROM WORK...

What

a

rotten

day

at

work!

Dave better

not be laying

around...

What

the-?

There

are

giant

worms

everywhere!

SCREAM!

SCREAM!

I’m

outta

here!

PANT

PANT

I can’t

let

those

worms

eat

my

roommate!

What

should

I

do?

Run?

Or

fight?

SLAM

ACT TWO

The hero takes action!

I

can’t

just

let

those

worms

eat

Dave!

Even

if

he

IS

a

lazy

jerk.

Time

to

take

action!

I’m

here

to

save

you,

Dave!

WHAM

Where

are

you?

I

shut

myself

in

the

bathroom!

In the middle of Act Two, something serious
happens.

Things get harder and harder for the hero, and the
hero hits rock bottom.

Here

I

come,

pal!

KICK

Oh

no!

I’m

too

late!

GOBBLE

GOBBLE!

Oh

no!

These

worms

are

eating

my

furniture!

CHEW

CHEW

CHEW

CHEW

And

my

TV!

CHEW

CHEW

And

my

goldfish!

GOBBLE

GOBBLE

What

can

I DO?

ACT THREE

The hero figures out a solution to the problems
and starts to “win.”

I

got

it!

INSECT SPRAY

STORE

One

can

of

worm

repellant,

please.

You

got

it,

bub.

OK

worms...

you

asked

for

it!

FWOOSH

TAKE

THAT!

GASP!

AND

THAT!

AIEEE!

FWOOSH

This

is

working!

Something unexpected happens, and things are
worse than ever for the hero.

Uh-oh,

I

ran

out!

PFST…

What’s

THAT?

RUMBLE

RUMBLE

ROAR!

GOOD

GOLLY!

SMASH!

WRIGGLE

WRIGGLE

Help!

Help!

I

guess

this

is

the

end!

The hero remembers the lessons from what’s
happened before and finds a new solution.

The hero uses those lessons and (usually) wins!

You

gotta

CHILL,

bro!

Here

goes

nothing!

WOOSH

CRACK!

SHATTER!

I

guess

Dave

wasn’t

so

bad

after

all!

THE

END.

Believe it or not, almost every movie you’ll see
follows the same beats of a three-act structure.

“The Wizard of Oz,” “Star Wars,” and every
superhero movie that’s ever been made — if you really

think about it, they’re all the same basic story.

The next time you watch a movie, keep track of
the beats. Try to figure out where one act ends

and the next act begins. And once you can do all
that, you’ll be able to guess what will happen next

in the story.

But be careful. It might not make you popular.

SMOOCH

I’LL BET THE

WEREWOLF COMES

BACK TO LIFE IN

ACT THREE!

16

GOING AROUND IN CIRCLES

Just because the rules for writing a script are
pretty simple, that doesn’t mean it’s easy for a

screenwriter to get everything right the first
time around. For most movies, there are at least a

dozen drafts, and it takes months of rewriting to
get a script right.

The filmmakers knew that certain changes had to
be made to “The Long Haul” to make the story

work as a movie. In the book, the family sets
out on a road trip, but they’re not really trying

to get anywhere. They just drive around for a few
days and end up where they started, back at home.

But that wouldn’t really work for a movie. It’s
important for the audience to have something to

root for, so the screenwriters gave the Heffleys
a goal: to reach Meemaw’s house in time for her

ninetieth birthday party.

Meemaw is Greg’s great grandmother, and she
made an appearance in Book 8, “Hard Luck.”

In a movie, it’s important to have a “ticking
clock.” When there’s something that has to

happen by a certain time, it makes everything
seem more urgent — and keeps the audience on the

edge of their seats.

Would the Heffleys get to Meemaw’s in time for
the party? Or would Greg screw everything up

and make them miss it? That’s the question at the
center of this movie.

18

The idea for Meemaw’s birthday party stuck and
made it into the final script. But there were lots

of other ideas that didn’t make the cut.

Here are some scenes that were part of the
“Long Haul” script at one time, but were later

thrown out.

Greg, Fregley, and Chirag have an epic laser tag
fight at a bowling alley.

Greg’s family is rescued by a Spanish-speaking
heavy metal group called Metallichihuahua.

BUZZ

ZAP

ZAP

ZAP

BUZZ

ZAP

RED

BLUE

10

7

ZAP

Greg and Rodrick are chased by a charging bull at
the country fair.

The Heffleys and the Beardos get into a tug-of-war
over a lounge chair at a water park.

As you can see, not every idea is a winner. But
trying out lots of different ideas can help point

you in the right direction.

COUNTRY

FAIR

20

A FRESH START

Audiences loved the actors who played the
characters in the first three films, especially Zach

Gordon, who played Greg Heffley, and Robert
Capron, who played Greg’s best friend, Rowley

Jefferson.

But by the time “The Long Haul” was in
development, Zach and Robert had grown up to

be young men and were headed off to college. So
there was no chance they’d be returning to their

roles as middle-schoolers.

21

The great thing about cartoon characters is that no
matter how many years go by, they never change.

It’s too bad it’s not the same way with actors!

While the script was being developed, the
filmmakers started their search for a new Greg

and Rowley. A casting announcement was made
inviting kids to try out for the roles.

GREG

2007

GREG

2017

CASTING

DIARY

of

a

Wimpy

Kid

THE

LONG

HAUL

Casting for the role of: Greg Heffley and Rowley Jefferson in the

20th Century Fox movie based upon the best selling Diary of Wimpy

Kid series by Jeff Kinney.

22

Two thousand boys auditioned for each character.
Some were experienced actors, and some were

stepping in front of the camera for the first time.

When actors try out for a part in a movie,
television show, or commercial, chances are that

they won’t get it. Most of the time, it’s not
because of a lack of talent — it’s just that there’s

someone else who’s a better fit for the role.

Rejection can be hard to take, especially for a
kid. But anyone who wants to be an actor has to

get used to dealing with disappointment, and to
be ready the next time a great role comes up. It’s

all part of being a professional.

NEXT!

AUDITIONS

23

When you’re trying out for a role, it’s not so
important how you look — it’s important that you

can capture the SPIRIT of the character you’re
trying out for.

The role of Greg Heffley is tricky to cast. Greg
is a kid who’s always looking out for himself, and

he does some things that aren’t so admirable. But
audiences need to LIKE Greg, or they won’t root

for him. And if the audience isn’t rooting for
Greg, then the movie won’t work.

It took months to find the right Greg. In the
end, the filmmakers chose Jason Drucker, a young

actor who had appeared in a handful of TV shows.

WHO FORGOT

TO PUT WHIPPED

CREAM IN

MY HOT CHOCOLATE?

I ALWAYS

HAVE WHIPPED CREAM

IN MY HOT CHOCOLATE!!!

24

Everyone who saw Jason’s audition tape knew he
could pull off the role and get audiences to cheer

him on.

With his long, curly hair, Jason didn’t LOOK
much like Greg Heffley. But that could always be

fixed later.

Greg’s best friend, Rowley Jefferson, is the
opposite of Greg in many ways. He’s innocent,

kind, and loyal, and is a happy-go-lucky kid.

(GULP)

SNIP

SNIP

25

No one captured the essence of Rowley better
than a young actor named Owen Asztalos, who had

appeared in a few television shows and commercials
before auditioning for “The Long Haul.”

But before the filmmakers could sign off on the
two young actors, they needed to see if the boys

had “chemistry.”

In movies, chemistry is the connection that two
people have when they’re together on-screen.

Sometimes, you can have two talented actors,
but for some reason they don’t connect when the

cameras roll. And if your co-stars don’t have good
chemistry, the audience will sense it.

26

Fortunately, when the director had the two boys
do a test scene, something clicked between them.

The pair made a believable Greg and Rowley.

The actors went home not knowing if they had
gotten the roles. A few weeks later, the director

called both boys to tell them the good news:
They’d be starring in the new movie as Greg

and Rowley. Jason and Owen couldn’t have been
more excited.

The two actors were each at the start of a whole
new journey, and their lives were about to change.

Both boys were eager to discover just where the
road might take them.

SLAP

27

CALLING ALL HEFFLEYS

Not only was Greg recast for the new movie, but
new actors were picked to play the rest of the

Heffleys as well.

Alicia Silverstone was chosen to
play Greg’s mom, Susan. Alicia

has had lots of memorable roles
in films, television shows, and

music videos. Once, she even
played Batgirl in a Batman

movie. In addition to being
an actress, Alicia is famous for being an animal

rights activist.

Tom Everett Scott was
picked to play Greg’s dad,

Frank. Tom has appeared
in lots of films as well, and

coincidentally, his first
starring role was alongside

his good friend Steve Zahn,
who played Greg’s dad in the

first three Wimpy Kid movies.

28

The role of Greg’s teenage older brother,
Rodrick, went to Charlie

Wright, an actor whose
movie career was starting

to take off. Charlie came
to his audition dressed in

the type of outfit Rodrick
might wear, which helped

him get the part.

The most challenging role to fill was Greg’s
younger brother, Manny, because the character

would be played not by one actor — but two.

When a movie calls for very young children to
play important roles, filmmakers usually cast

twins. That way, if one of the kids is being
uncooperative (or just needs to take a nap), the

sibling can be swapped in.

The kids playing Manny couldn’t be too young, or
they wouldn’t be able to remember their lines.

29

But they couldn’t be too old, either, or they’d
outgrow the part if there were future films.

The role went to Dylan and Wyatt Walters, a pair
of three-year-old boys. But Dylan and Wyatt

aren’t twins, they’re triplets — they have a sister
as well. Dylan and Wyatt had never been on

camera before, so making a movie would be a whole
new experience for them.

The actors lived in different areas of the country,
but soon they’d all be headed to the same place,

coming together as the Heffleys.

30

LOCATION, LOCATION

One of the biggest decisions the filmmakers had
to make was where to shoot “The Long Haul.”

The first three Wimpy Kid movies were shot in
Vancouver, Canada. But since the new film was

about a family’s road trip through the United
States, it really had to be filmed there.

It wouldn’t be practical to shoot a movie that
covered the kind of distance the Heffleys were

traveling, though. A film like “The Long Haul”
requires a cast and crew of hundreds of people,

along with all the equipment they use to get their
jobs done. And it’s just too expensive to move all

that gear around every day.

31

The filmmakers needed to find an area in the
United States that had a wide range of scenery.

That way, they could make it LOOK like the
Heffleys were traveling a great distance, even

though all the scenes would be filmed close to one
another.

They decided on Georgia, a beautiful state in the
southern U.S. with a diverse landscape.

One of the reasons Georgia was chosen was because
its capital is Atlanta. Many television shows and

films are made in that city, so there are lots of
talented people who live and work in the area.

32

In fact, some of today’s biggest blockbusters
are shot in Atlanta, including many of the big

superhero movies.

Once Atlanta was chosen as “home base” for the
film, the director and a small team of location

scouts spent weeks driving all over the area,
looking for the perfect places to capture the

scenes described in the screenplay. They took
pictures and video of each location they visited.

Scouting is hard work, but it’s an important step
in making a good movie. On the following pages

are a handful of spots that were chosen for the
film, and the scenes in the “Long Haul” book that

they match up with.

SNAP

33

ROLL

ROLL

ROLL

SBFTT!

GLBRF!

SETTING IT IN MOTION

With the final details of the script getting nailed
down, it was time to get serious about making this

movie. There’s a ton of work that needs to be
done before the actors arrive and filming starts,

and this phase is called “preproduction.”

A team of artists, set designers, wardrobe
specialists, prop masters, and others set up shop

in an old elementary school in Atlanta.

Each team took over an empty classroom to start
doing their work.

Diary

of

a

Wimpy

Kid

THE

LONG

HAUL

PRODUCTION

36

If you walked through the hallways of the school
during preproduction for “The Long Haul,” you’d

see a lot of crazy stuff going on. In one room,
you’d find the prop

master painting lips on a
pacifier with bad teeth.

A few feet away, you’d
find an illustrator making

up a “Mommy Meal” bag in
the same handwriting as Mrs. Heffley.

Nearby you’d see piles
of luggage to fill

the Heffleys’ boat,
an assortment of

car seats and plastic
potties for Manny to

sit on, and various
cardboard signs with

Rodrick’s handwriting
on them.

37

On a cluttered table,
you’d find a tube of

cinnamon rolls and
packets of icing.

Out in the hallway,
you’d come across the

assistant prop master
painting a pair of

underwear with glue to
make it stiff as a board so it could be flung like

a Frisbee.

An arm’s length away, you’d see someone mixing a
giant vat of fake mud to splatter on the actors

during filming.

38

And just outside the doorway, you’d see mannequins
dressed in the Heffleys’ clothes to test how the

mud would look when it
was splattered on the

actors.

Down the hallway,
you’d find a ton

of activity in a
room marked “Art

Department.” This
team’s job is to design

everything you see
on-screen that doesn’t

already exist, from
small props to giant movie sets.

The art department taped pictures of the
illustrations from “The Long Haul” to the walls so

they could stay as true to the original drawings
as possible. On the following pages are some of

the designs created by the art department, along
with the illustrations that inspired them.

39

Family

Frolic

ADVENTURE

AWAITS!

PLAN

THE

PERFECT

ROAD

TRIP!

Family

Frolic

ADVENTURE

AWAITS!

plan

the

PERFECT

ROAD

TRIP!

p.53

STRESS

TEST

HOW

DO

YOU

KNOW

WHEN

IT’S

TOO

MUCH?

Family

Frolic

ADVENTURE

AWAITS!

TAKE

THE

ULTIMATE

ROAD

TRIP!

HK

CINNAMON

ROLLS

with Icing

8

Cinnamon

Rolls

HEAT

MAKE

EAT!

1.

HEAT

2.

PLACE

3.

BAKE

4.

SPREAD

CINNAMON

ROLLS

PAPA

PEPE’S

PAPA

PEPE’S

pepperoni

pizza

¡HOLA!

LEARN

TO

SPEAK

SPANISH

FLUENTLY

¡HOLA!

LEARN

TO

SPEAK

SPANISH

FLUENTLY

CHEEZ

CURLZ

CHEEZCURLZ

42

Looking at some of these images, you’re probably
wondering why the designers went to the trouble

of putting so much detail into each design. Does
the package of cinnamon rolls really need to

have a list of nutrition facts, plus step-by-step
cooking instructions? Does the microwave pizza box

need to have the words “Cook thoroughly, enjoy
wholeheartedly” written in itsy-bitsy print?

The short answer is “yes.” The art department’s
job is to make the world of the movie as complete

as possible. This helps the actors do their jobs,
because if their world is believable, it’s easier for

them to pretend they’re really in it.

Besides, the designers take a lot of pride in
the work they do. Even if every detail doesn’t

show up on-screen, they can feel good about a
job well done.

COLA

43

It's a Sign

Any time you go on a road trip, you’re bound to
see lots of interesting signs along the way. Here

are some of the signs the production department
created to bring the Heffleys’ journey to life.

THE

HIGHWAY

1

30TH

ANNIVERSARY

COUNTRY

FAIR

Wholesome

fun

for

the

whole

family

L’IL

CRITTERS

PETTING

ZOO

44

WARNING

HUNTING

AREA

All the signs for the movie
were first created on a

computer screen, and later
made out of materials such

as metal, plastic, glass, and wood. The signs were
then “weathered” to make them look like they’d

been outside for a while. It’s all part of creating
a realistic world for the movie.

But not everything is as it seems. The L’il Critters
Petting Zoo sign looks like it’s made out of iron,

but it’s really made out of plastic that’s painted to
look rusty.

45

The effect is so convincing that when you touch
the sign, you’re expecting it to be heavy. But it’s

actually as light as a feather.

Weathering signs is a real art form. Check out
the difference between the digital design of this

sign and the version that’s seen in the film.

Indiana’s

Finest

FEED & FARM

SUPPLY

46

In the movie, the Heffleys stay at a handful of
hotels and motels, and each one has a sign that

reflects its unique character.

One of the motels is
called “The Laughing

Pines,” and it has a large sign illuminated with
neon lights. The sign weighed hundreds of pounds

and took several weeks to create but is only seen
for about three seconds on-screen.

Sleep

Tite

MOTEL

CANDLELIGHT

LODGE

EST

1894

COME EAR OFTEN?

One of the biggest undertakings for the
art department was to create a family-style

restaurant called Corny’s. If you’re a fan of the
Wimpy Kid books, you might remember Corny’s

from “The Third Wheel.”

Corny’s was in the first scene of the movie, so
creating the set began long before filming started.

It was an ambitious project, because there are
lots of elements to a restaurant: signage, menus,

plates, napkins, furniture, merchandise…they
all needed to be designed and created.

Come

back

soon,

y’all!

48

No detail was overlooked. The designers even
made buttons for the Corny’s staff to wear.

CORNY’S

CORNY’S

Come

back

soon,

y’all!

FEED

YER

FACE

Come

ear

often?

If

it

ain’t

fun,

it

ain’t

Corny’s

49

All the signage in the restaurant reflected the
unique character of the place.

CORNY’S

BILLO’

RIGHTS

YOU’VE

GOT

THE

RIGHT

TO…

EAT

LIBERALLY

YOU’VE

GOT

THE

RIGHT

TO…

HAVE

DESSERT

FIRST

YOU’VE

GOT

THE

RIGHT

TO…

EAT

MORE

FOR

LESS

YOU’VE

GOT

THE

RIGHT

TO

HAVE…

QUALITY

FAMILY

TIME

YOU’VE

GOT

THE

RIGHT

TO…

CHOOSE

FREELY

It’s possible the designers got a little TOO
carried away. They even created a backstory about

the first-ever Corny’s restaurant and its original
cook, Ron Hammond.

The images are never
actually seen in the

movie, but now they’re
part of the Wimpy Kid

universe forever.

“Family dining

is about

three

“Fings”:

Freshness,

Fun, and Fearlessness.

Here at Corny’s,

we love to

make dining out with the

family an enjoyable

experience

experience

for everyone, from

grandpa to

L’il Junior.”

MEET

the

Original

PREP

COOK

RON

HAMMOND

While the artists were creating all the great
stuff to go inside Corny’s, the scouting team was

searching for the perfect spot to set up the
imaginary restaurant.

They found an empty building outside of Atlanta
that had recently been an Asian seafood

restaurant, and they thought it could be a
perfect fit.

But before the production department started
doing the real work to transform the building into

Corny’s, they did some mock-ups on the computer
to see what things would look like. In the design

world, this is called creating a “composite.” Here
are some shots of the empty restaurant, and the

Cornified composites.

52

Once everyone agreed that the designs looked
good, work started on getting the restaurant

ready for filming. Slowly but surely, the interior
of the building was transformed into a brightly

colored family-style restaurant.

54

On top of dressing up the restaurant with signs,
new tables and chairs, and new carpeting, a

colorful play structure was brought in.

The script called for a ball pit, so a crew had
to bring in heavy machinery to dig a square hole

in the floor, which would later be filled with
plastic balls.

Work began transforming the outside of the
building as well. The wood trim was given a new

paint job in a Corny’s color scheme, and an
illuminated sign was hung above the doorway.

55

The building was on a busy stretch of road, and
when the Corny’s sign went up, some people came

by to check out the joint and maybe have a bite
to eat.

If your movie set looks good enough to convince
the public it’s a real restaurant, that’s the sign

of good work. Aaron Osborne and his team of
designers had passed their first big test and

were ready for the start of filming.

Corny himself would be proud.

56

THIS LITTLE PIGGY

As the start of filming approached, everyone was
a little nervous about one thing: the pig. In the

book, the pig plays a major role, and there was
no question it would be in the film.

The first task was to choose which KIND of pig
would be in the film. There are all sorts of pigs

out there, and the filmmakers had to pick the
breed that would be the best fit for the movie.

A husband-and-wife team who trained animals to
work in films came in to discuss the pros and cons

of each type of pig. They even brought a few pigs
with them for show-and-tell.

SNR

57

The filmmakers enjoyed having some time with
the baby pigs, and it was a fun day to be in the

movie business.

Everyone loved the adorable baby Yorkshire
piglets, which were the type of pig used in the

movie “Babe.” But the problem with that breed
is that they grow up fast, and the full-grown

version isn’t as cuddly as the little version.

During a two-month shoot, a Yorkshire pig
wouldn’t reach its adult size, but the growth would

be noticeable to audiences.

The filmmakers needed a type of pig that was
cute, smart, and didn’t grow too big or too fast.

The breed that checked all those boxes was the
Juliana variety.

59

Juliana pigs are an intelligent, playful, and
affectionate breed — perfect qualities for the

Heffleys’ new pet. Most important, they stay on
the small side, even as adults.

But just as the filmmakers needed a backup
Manny, they needed a backup pig. Two young pigs

that were the same age were picked for the part
and brought to the production offices to audition.

They seemed perfect for the role, but what really
sealed the deal was when they sat in Manny’s

plastic potty.

60

Once the pigs were chosen, a special effects
artist came in to sculpt a replica in clay. But the

reason for that is a story for a little later on.

NOW, ABOUT THAT HAIR…

A few weeks before filming was set to begin,
a number of the actors came to the production

offices to participate in a read-through of the
script, try on their costumes, and meet with the

director.

But a big reason
for the trip

was to get the
actors’ hair right

for the movie.
The filmmakers

thought it was
best to have

Jason’s and
Owen’s hair more

or less match the
hairstyles of Zach Gordon and Robert Capron in

the first three films.

Jason Drucker’s long hair had already been cut
short when he did a test screening with Owen.

62

But Jason’s hair is naturally curly, and it had to
be constantly straightened so it didn’t get out

of control.

Owen normally wore his hair parted to the side,
but now it was time

to transform him
into Rowley, who

has more of a bowl
cut in the films.

Things weren’t as
straightforward

with Charlie, who
was set to play

Rodrick. Charlie
likes to wear his hair long, which doesn’t really

match Rodrick’s spiky hair in the books.

CRUNCH

CRUNCH

63

But Charlie’s long hair looked good for a rock-
and-roll drummer, so he got to keep his look. It

was more important to capture the spirit of the
characters than their exact appearance.

Alicia and Tom got to keep their normal
hairstyles, too. And that was probably a relief to

both of them, because their cartoon counterparts
didn’t exactly have the coolest hair.

LÖDED

DIPER

64

ACTION!

In mid-September, everyone came together
for the start of filming. There was a lot of

excitement the first day on set, and the actors
and crew were eager to get started.

Corny’s was ready for its big day. The tables

were set and
the place was

looking spiffy.
But a restaurant

isn’t really a
restaurant

without food.

65

Before filming started,
chefs made food — piles

and piles of it. In the
book, the all-you-can-eat

buffet is Corny’s most
popular feature, so there

needed to be heaps of
food of every variety.

After all, Corny wants to
make sure everyone who visits his restaurant gets

their fill.

Filming at Corny’s was scheduled to last four days.
That created some challenges, because the food on

the tables needed to look fresh, day after day.

GLOP

POKE

POKE

Corny

sez:

FEED

YER

FACE

66

You’ve probably noticed that when food’s left out,
it starts to go bad. So the cooks were constantly

making new food to replace what was on the tables.

The drinks were a different matter. The
challenge there was the ice. If real ice was

used, it would melt under the hot lights. So the
prop department filled the drinks with plastic

ice cubes instead.

Usually, movies don’t shoot in order. But for “The
Long Haul,” the opening scenes were actually the

first ones to be filmed. So when the Heffley family
arrives at Corny’s restaurant, it was the first

time the actors were sharing a scene together.

67

They got to know one another — and Rowley — by
chatting at their table in Children’s Alley.

But they wouldn’t be the only ones getting to
know one another that day. In the book, Corny’s

is absolutely packed with people.

PTOO

MUNCH

MUNCH

68

The movie would be the same way. Dozens of
people signed up to be extras for the scenes at

Corny’s, and when they arrived they were seated
together as families for the film.

They’d spend the next few days sitting at their
tables and bonding over their shared experience.

Being an extra is hard work. The hours are long,
and there’s a lot of waiting around. Sometimes

your moment on camera gets cut, and you don’t
even end up in the final film.

HOW OLD ARE YOU?

WHAT’S YOUR

FAVORITE SUBJECT

IN SCHOOL? HAVE

YOU EVER BEEN IN

A MOVIE BEFORE?

CHILDREN’S

ALLEY

I WIKE

TURTLES.

TODAY’S

SPECIAL:

ROAST

ROAST

BEEF

69

That was the case with the Corny’s mascot, who
had to put on an uncomfortable costume and wear

makeup every day on set. Even though he got cut
from the movie, at least he made this book!

One of the last scenes to film at Corny’s was the
hardest to pull off. It was a single shot all the

way through the restaurant, starting on a crying
baby’s face, weaving through the buffet area,

and ending up at the feet of the Heffley family.

This is what filmmakers call a long tracking shot.
Everyone in the scene has to do everything

exactly right, or it will ruin the take and they’ll
have to do it all over again.

70

In a restaurant filled with extras and a lot of
food and drinks, there are tons of things that

can go wrong.

The first few takes of the scene didn’t go as
planned, which was stressful because time was

running out to get the shot right. But for the
very last one, things went perfectly. To celebrate,

the cinematographer and director treated themselves
to ice cream from the soft-serve machine.

HELP

YERSELF!

GLUG

GLUG

DESSERT

As filming wrapped up on the Corny’s set, the
production team got ready to say good-bye to the

restaurant they had created.

They put together a time capsule filled with
cool stuff, like the film’s script, menus, Corny’s

merchandise, and a note for whoever might find it
in the future. Then they put the time capsule into

the ball pit, which was later filled with concrete.

Who knows? In a few hundred years, maybe some
of our descendants will uncover the time capsule.

And they’ll probably wonder why plastic ice cubes
were used in our drinks.

COMING SOON

ROBOTO’S

RATTLE

RATTLE

72

Middle of the Road

After filming in one place for a few days, it was
time to hit the road and start filming scenes of

the Heffleys traveling. This was the first chance to
take the van — and boat — out for a spin.

But the van isn’t always what it seems. Sometimes
it’s an ordinary vehicle that a typical family would

drive. At other times it’s a special vehicle called a
“buck car” that’s designed for moviemaking.

73

The buck car sits on a pair of rails and breaks
apart in pieces.

When a piece of
the van needs to

be moved, it just
slides out of the

way. This allows
the director to

get shots of the
interior of the

vehicle that would be much more difficult to get in
an ordinary van.

74

The buck car came in handy lots of different times
during the filming of “The Long Haul.” For some

shots it was convenient to use, but other shots
would’ve been nearly impossible to film without it.

When you’re shooting on a public road, you have to
close it off to make sure nobody drives onto the

movie set. And for a film like “The Long Haul,”
there are plenty of good reasons for that.

The cars you see going by in the background of a
film are actually being driven by stunt drivers.

And if the cars
aren’t going

anywhere,
chances are

there are extras
at the wheels.

76

It’s easy to film when the vehicles are standing
still. But things get a lot more complicated when

the cars are moving.

A special truck is used to film vehicles while rolling.
The flatbed in the back is designed to hold

the cameras, the director, and a few other key
people. The truck is followed by a caravan of

vehicles that carry the rest of the team.

The vehicles are spray-painted completely black so
that they don’t cast a reflection in the windows

of passing cars.

77

That’s especially important when shooting a close-up
like this one.

The more action
there is in a

scene, the more
challenging it

is to film. The
most complex road

scene in the movie is when Greg’s father takes a
work call, and chaos breaks out inside the van.

The whole scene went off without a hitch, and no
people, or pigs, were harmed in the process.

78

A Sticky Situation

The script for “The Long Haul” called for the
Heffley family to get really messy on their journey

to Meemaw’s. Mud, bird poop, feathers, toiletries,
cinnamon bun goo — you name it, and the Heffleys

were covered in it.

Most of the time, it’s the hair and makeup
department’s job to make actors look good

on-screen. But for “The Long Haul,” more often
than not they needed to look BAD.

The actors playing the Heffleys weren’t the
ONLY ones who had to get messy, though.

In most films, lighting doubles or stand-ins are
used so that the filmmakers can get everything

set up just right before the real actors are
brought in. For “The Long Haul,” each member

of the Heffley family had a double who was the
same height. And like the actors who played the

Heffleys, the stand-ins enjoyed getting to know
one another during filming.

80

Everything the actors who played the Heffley
family went through in the film, the lighting

doubles had to go through, too. And they had to
go through it FIRST.

So every time Greg and his family were sprayed
with shampoo, attacked

by seagulls, or
splattered with mud,

remember that they
weren’t the only ones

who had to suffer.

In one of the first
messy scenes that was

filmed, the Beardo
family’s van runs over

a bag of toiletries,
which explodes and covers the Heffleys in a mix of

shampoo, conditioner, and makeup. The filmmakers
tried different combinations of liquids in different

colors and amounts until they got the mixture
just right.

81

Then the liquid was loaded into air-powered cannons
that were designed to safely splatter people.

82

When the effect looked right, the actors playing
the Heffleys were brought in for their turn in

front of the cameras.

Everyone seemed to be a good sport about
getting covered in slop, but some days were

tougher than others. Usually everyone could get
cleaned up right after their messy moment, but

sometimes that wasn’t possible.

At one point in the film, the Heffleys get
covered head to toe in mud.

83

It wasn’t REAL mud, thankfully — it was
actually a mixture of cornstarch and food coloring.

But still, nobody
found it pleasant to

be caked in it.

Of course, the
actors could take

showers at night,
but during filming it

was all mud, all the time. And you really couldn’t
blame anyone if they got a little grouchy.

84

Ani-Manny and Robo-Pig

One of the big questions at the start of filming
was how the twins playing Manny would behave

once the cameras were rolling. Moviemaking is
time-consuming, hard work, and there was no

telling how Dylan and Wyatt would feel about it.

In the first three movies, Manny appeared in
just a handful of scenes. But in “The Long Haul,”

Manny would need to be in almost every single
shot. So the filmmakers had to come up with some

creative solutions to make sure everything went
smoothly on set.

One of the simplest solutions was the pacifier
that Manny has in his mouth for a big chunk of

the movie.

85

The filmmakers knew from experience that toddlers
can be chatty when other actors are saying their

lines. So giving the actors who played Manny a
pacifier was a simple way to keep them occupied.

The other solutions were a little more complex. For
parts of the movie, Manny is sitting in his car

seat, and sometimes he’s napping. The filmmakers
decided to put a realistic mannequin in place of the

twins for the scenes where Manny was asleep.

But this was no ordinary doll. Inside the
mannequin were complex robotics that allowed

“Manny” to suck on his pacifier, turn his head
to the side, and even kick his legs in his sleep.

86

This would help
create the illusion

that Manny was
really “alive,” even

if he was napping.
Manny’s movements

were controlled by
a special effects

technician standing a
few feet offscreen.

The “Ani-Manny,” as
it came to be called

by the crew, was so convincing that when people
came across it on set, they thought it was a real

human being.
Even Dylan

and Wyatt
seemed a

little confused
when they

first saw it.

87

Manny wasn’t the only one who got the robotic
treatment. An animatronic version of the pig was

created as well. That was the purpose of the clay
model from the preproduction phase.

Animals can be difficult to work with, and there
was no telling what a live pig might do when the

cameras were rolling. So the filmmakers decided to
use a live, trained pig most of the time, and then

use a remote-controlled robot in special situations.

Juliana pigs don’t love to be held, but in two of
the scenes the script called for Manny to cradle

the pig in his arms.

88

For those scenes, the animatronic pig needed to be
convincing enough in its close-ups that moviegoers

wouldn’t notice it wasn’t a real animal.

The robot pig could do it all — blink, wag its tail,
wiggle its rear end, and open and close its mouth.

It really was a marvel of technology.

The animatronic pig had its big moment on the
day Manny and his pet reunite at the L’il Critters

Petting Zoo, which is a scene that happens at
the end of the “Long Haul” book but was filmed

early on for the movie.

For the first part of the scene, the real-life Manny
and the real-life pig sprint toward each other.

One of the pig’s
trainers used snacks

to get it to run
toward the camera.

When Manny
and the pig come

together, Manny holds the pig in his arms as it
wags its tail with joy. By then, the real pig had

been swapped out for the animatronic one. And
the whole scene is so convincing, no one would hold

it against you for getting a little misty-eyed.

90

Winging It

One of the most memorable scenes in the book is
when a flock of seagulls invades the Heffleys’ van

to gobble up Greg’s Cheez Curlz.

Of all the scenes in the movie, this was the one
that most closely matched what happens in the

book. The director planned all the action in advance
with rough drawings, and then a storyboard artist,

Dawud Anyabwile, sketched out each scene.

There’s an amazing level of artistry and detail
that goes into planning a scene like this one.

SLAM

91

Feeling miserable, Greg reaches for a bag of Cheez Curlz to comfort-eat.

A SEAGULL lands on the edge of the broken sunroof and looks in.
It’s kinda cute.

Greg shows it his bag of Cheez Curlz. The seagull cocks its head. Greg

tosses up a Cheez Curl. The seagull catches it and looks to Greg for more.

Susan: Oh Greg, I wouldn’t encourage them.

Greg: There’s only one.

But when Greg looks up …

… there are TWO seagulls.

Greg tosses them another.

Frank: Seriously, Greg, that’s enough.

Greg looks up again and the sunroof is surrounded by seagulls. This
is creepy.

Greg: Yeah. Er, guys, can you close the sunroof?

Frank: Rodrick gummed it up, remember?

Zoom in on seagull.

Close up on Greg’s face.

Suddenly, one of the seagulls jumps in the car and grabs Greg’s bag of
Cheez Curlz.

Greg tries to hold on to the bag.

The seagull flies away with the bag …

… spilling Cheez Curlz into the van as it flies away.

The Heffleys are covered with Cheez Curlz.

Greedy seagulls swarm in through the sunroof. Everybody screams.

Frank panics …

… and accidentally stomps on the gas pedal.

The minivan full of seagulls accelerates a few feet …

… then rolls down a grassy median …

… slamming into the bottom, and then finally coming to a stop.

The doors burst open and the seagulls swarm out …

…followed by the Heffleys. They are freaked out, roughed up, and covered
in feathers and poop.

Greg breathes a sigh of relief …

… until one last seagull swoops in …

… and grabs a Cheez Curl from his hair.

The minivan hisses as smoke exhales from under the hood.

Everyone looks at Greg like everything is his fault, again.

If you thought real birds — or animatronic ones —
were used for this scene, you’d be mistaken. The

seagulls in the movie were all created on computers.
And when it came time to film on set, the digital

seagulls hadn’t even been created yet.

So without any real birds to react to, the actors
had to do what they do best — make believe.

104

The cast had to pretend the seagulls were in
the car, and a few of the crew members had to

pretend to be seagulls. Here’s what it looked like
on set when the

seagulls drop
the contents of

the Cheez Curlz
bag into the

Heffleys’ van.

And here’s the
assistant director using a seagull cutout to pluck

the last Cheez Curl out of Greg’s hair.

Months after filming ended, a special effects
team got to work, digitally adding seagulls to the

shots. The renderings started off rough, then
got better with each pass.

Here are a few shots of each stage in the process,
starting with the way things looked during

filming, and at each step along the way. See if
you can match the shots with the storyboard

drawings on the previous pages.

In the early days of filmmaking, special effects
were very basic.

But as special effects have gotten better,
audiences have become more and more demanding

that everything they see on-screen looks “real.”

The seagulls in “The Long Haul” look great by
today’s standards. But thirty years from now,

audiences may see them very differently.

FAAAAKKKKE!

The Only Game in Town

One of the biggest set pieces in the movie is for
a scene that’s not in the book. In the film, the

family is headed to Meemaw’s party, but Greg has
other plans. He secretly reroutes the GPS to

take him to Player Expo, a huge gathering of
game enthusiasts.

For Greg, Player Expo is like heaven. He needs to
figure out a way to get there, no matter what.

PLAYER

-EXPO

international

110

To film the scenes for Player Expo, the
filmmakers rented out the Georgia International

Convention Center. Months before they got
there, the art department planned out every inch

of the convention hall.

They made a three-dimensional miniature paper
model of every booth that would fill out the

convention center. The model also helped the
director plan out his shots.

Creating Player Expo was a huge undertaking,
because the giant hall needed to be packed with

video-game booths, walls of monitors, and lots of
other eye candy for moviegoers to enjoy.

111

Player Expo would be filled with real products as
well as ones that were made up. The design team

had a blast creating concepts for games that
weren’t actually real but probably should be.

Here are some of the games that exist only in the
Wimpy Kid movie universe…for now.

BIG

FACE

CANDY

EATER

113

CHESS

X TREME!

Friendsville

114

GALACTIC

CARNAGE

MUSHROOM

MAKOTO

115

UNCHAINED

OCEAN’S

BOTTOM

REVENGE

KRAKENS

116

ROCK

DRUMMER

ICEBREAKERS

117

TWISTED

WIZARD

Each game had its own separate area on the
convention floor, and each area took on the

personality of the game. Some of the booths
were very elaborate.

119

When you’re making a movie, you have a budget — a
certain amount of money you’re allowed to spend.

It’s always a challenge to stay within the budget,
and for a set like Player Expo, it’s easy to get

carried away.

But the art department found clever ways to keep
costs down. They were able to get their hands

on some great stuff left over from a video-game
convention that had recently wrapped up.

Some of the displays you see in the film have pieces
that were used in an entirely different way in

other movies.

120

Since Atlanta is a big movie town, there are lots
of props left over from other films and television

shows. If you’re really paying attention, you might
notice that the metal chairs in one of the booths

were first used in the Hunger Games movies.

Once the convention hall was filled with colorful
displays, it was time to bring in the people.

Hundreds of extras were needed for the Player
Expo scenes.

SLIIIIDE

Most were dressed in ordinary clothes, but a
number of attendees went all-out. At big

conventions where people come together to celebrate
movies, video games, and comics, a huge number of

people dress up like their favorite characters.

This is called “cosplay,” and costumes can range
from simple homemade outfits to professional-grade

getups that cost thousands of dollars to create.

Some of the extras in “The Long Haul” brought
their own cosplay outfits, and some were dressed

up by the wardrobe department on the day of
filming. The makeup department joined forces and

got to show what they were really capable of.

122

Each booth came with its own costumed characters
to represent that game. Buried under the Twisted

Wizard costume was Jason Drucker’s dad, who took
time off from work to be an extra in the movie. He’s

pictured here with Rose Locke, who was in charge
of casting all the extras for the film.

One of the booths at Player Expo was for a
fictional game called FriendsVille, and it was

manned by the author of this book. The
wardrobe department’s job was to make him look

as dorky as possible, which clearly wasn’t that
easy to do.

124

But the biggest celebrity at Player Expo was
Greg’s idol, Mac Digby, who was played by Joshua

Hoover. Mac is a video-game enthusiast with a
gigantic YouTube following. It’s Greg’s dream to

meet Mac — and get into one of his videos.

Friendsville

In the movie, Mac’s such a big star that he’s got
not only his own stage in the convention center

but a catchphrase to rival “Zoo-Wee Mama.”

126

DAT'S

HOW

DIGBY

DO

IT

The other big set piece in “The Long Haul” was
the country fair. And unlike Player Expo, this

one was already part of the Wimpy Kid universe.

But building a giant country fair from scratch,
complete with rides, food booths, and livestock

tents, would cost a fortune. The filmmaking team
decided early on that the best bet would be to find

a REAL country fair in the region and tag along.

Luckily, there are a handful of annual fairs in the
Atlanta area, and the one held in Griffin, Georgia,

fit the bill.

HOORAY!!!

A FAIR SHARE

127

The filmmakers reached out to the fair organizers
and asked if they could make the location a part

of the movie. They agreed, under one condition:
Filming had to wrap at dusk every day so the

gates could open to the public in the evening.

That meant the fairgrounds were a movie set during
the day, and the real thing at night.

128

Most of the booths you see in the movie are part
of the actual fair, but others were created just

for the film.

When Greg and Rodrick are enjoying deep-fried
butter on a stick, it’s served at a stand that

was created for the film. But believe it or not, in
lots of places, deep-fried butter on a stick is a

real thing.

129

In fact, there’s a lot of weird food that’s served
up at your typical country fair.

When Greg and Rodrick eat fried butter in the
movie, it’s not a trick — it really IS fried butter.

But the actors were total pros.

SLORK

SLURP

CHEW

CHEW

PAT

PAT

DEEP-FRIED

PB&J

BUTTER

ON

A

STICK

The fried butter was served up by character actor
Ricky Muse, who plays the butter vendor.

A character actor is a performer who specializes
in interesting or unusual roles. In the world of

moviemaking, not everyone can be the star. But
there are lots of talented, quirky actors who

make a living by taking small roles that have a
big impact.

In fact, sometimes a character actor’s performance
is so memorable that it becomes everyone’s favorite

part of a movie.

131

The actors really enjoyed having the run of the
fair during the day. They got to play carnival

games and ride rides. Imagine having an
amusement park all to yourself without having

to wait in line!

Their fun wasn’t limited to the daytime, either.
The actors came back to enjoy the country fair at

night, when it was packed with people.

One of the great things about making a film like
“The Long Haul” is that the set is very family

friendly.

132

Some of the filmmakers brought their own kids
to the set during the country fair shoot. And

several of them made it into the film, either as
background extras or as actors with spoken lines.

They skipped a little school and got a taste of
the movie star treatment, too.

133

A HAIRY SITUATION

One of the families that makes an appearance at
the country fair came straight out of the pages

of the book: the Beardos.

In the series, the Beardos have three sons. But
for the movie, the filmmakers decided to swap out

the oldest boy for a girl to mix things up a little.

In the book, we don’t know the names of the
Beardo kids. But in the movie, they’re Brandon,

Brent, and Brandi.

In “The Long Haul,” Mr. Beardo spends a lot of
time chasing after Greg. Chris Coppola, the actor

who plays Mr. Beardo, modeled his performance
after Bluto from the Popeye comics.

By a strange coincidence, this wasn’t the first
time Chris had worked with Jason Drucker. In

fact, Chris has worked as Jason’s acting coach on
a few occasions.

By now, you’re probably getting a sense that what
you see on-screen isn’t always

the real thing. So it might
not come as a big surprise

that Mr. Beardo’s beard was
also a fake. During filming,

Chris Coppola was actually
clean-shaven.

LET ME GET
SOMETHING

STRAIGHT: THIS IS

A JOURNAL,
NOT A DIARY!

DIARY

136

The beard was mesh with individual hairs strung
through it, and even up close it was very

convincing.

Chris wasn’t the only one who got to see what
it was like to have a full beard without going

through the trouble of growing it.

Patrick Kinney (the original inspiration for the
character Manny) had always wanted a beard, but

wasn’t able to grow one. On the movie set, his
dream finally came true.

A ROUND TRIP

The “Long Haul” film is full of action shots, but
one of the most complex sequences takes place

inside the Alien Abduction ride.

If you’ve ever been to a carnival, you’ve probably
ridden something like Alien Abduction. It’s a

circular ride that spins faster and faster, and
pins its passengers to the wall.

It’s a lot of fun — as long as you didn’t just
finish eating a couple of sticks of fried butter.

Alien

ABDUCTION

138

In the film, Greg and Rodrick board the ride,
and are soon joined by an angry Mr. Beardo,

who’s after Greg. The script called for Greg to
flee Mr. Beardo by crawling over the heads of the

other passengers. Eventually, Mr. Beardo rolls
across Rodrick, who loses his lunch.

The director put together rough storyboards
to string all the action together. The drawings

are simple, but they did their job communicating
exactly what was needed in each shot. On the

following pages are the storyboards and the
matching moments from the film.

139

ALION

ENCOUNTER

SEQUENCE

CARNIE

GREG + R

ENTER.

CAMERA

PANS

PAST

CARNIE

AS

THEY

SETTLE

AGAINST

WALL

GREG

LOOKS

NERVOUS

CARNIE :

"STAY

AGIN

THE

WALL"

AND

KEEP

YER

HANDS

TO

YERSELVES.

140

CARNIE’S

FOOT

ON

BUTTON.

HIGH

ANGLE

AA

STARTS

TO

SPIN.

ROD:

FEELS

SICK.

G:

NINTH!

OS:

YOU!

MR

B. FLOPS

IN

STOP

THE

RIDE...

CARNIE

HAS

HEADPHONES

ON

142

WATCHING

DIAPER

HAND

GREG

STARTS

TO

MOVE

HIGH

ANGLE

SPINNING

FASTER

144

GIRL’S

PIGTAILS

RICE

GREG

STRUGGLES

TO

MOVE

MR

B. ROLLS

OVER

A

KID

MR

BEARDO

GLARES.

146

GREG

TERRIFIED

TURNS

TO

SEE

PEOPLE

IN

HIS

WAY

GREG

STARTS

TO

CLIMB

ROD

WATCHES

GREG

CLIMBS

ABOVE

B:

YOU

NEED

TO

MOVE….

R:

PLEASE

DON’T…

148

RAMP

UP

TO

SLOW

MOTION

SLOW

MOTION

PUSH

IN

SLOW

MOTION

VOMIT

OUT

150

FULL

MOTION

VOMIT

HITS .

CROWD

HORROR

GREG

HORROR .

In the film, the Alien Abduction ride looks like
it’s in motion the whole time. But the scene took

two days to film, and that’s too long to keep
actors on a moving ride — no matter HOW much

fun it is.

So some tricks were used to make the ride LOOK
like it was spinning, even when it wasn’t. Rotating

lights positioned above the ride flashed across the
walls to give the illusion of movement.

Giant fans positioned inside the ride gently blew
the actors’ hair.

152

When a girl’s pigtails slowly rise up and stick to
the wall, the filmmakers used the most basic movie

trick of all — fishing wire — which doesn’t show up
on the screen.

But when Rodrick gets sick on the ride, the
effect for the half-digested fried butter was

created on computers long after filming ended.
And the actor playing Mr. Beardo was grateful

for that.

153

PRIZE PIG

After the scenes on the Alien Abduction ride, the
filmmakers braced themselves for a different type

of squirming — this time, of the pig variety.

The script called for Manny to win the baby pig
as the grand prize in a contest for guessing the

weight of a giant hog.

No one knew what to expect when the actor
playing Manny was handed the pig. Would it

squeal? Would it try to wriggle free? Would the
actor playing Manny be too scared to hold a live

animal?

GUESS

THE

WEIGHT

OF

THE

HOG

The animatronic pig was on standby in case something
went wrong. But when the actor playing the judge

handed Manny the real live pig, the handoff went
without a hitch.

The pig stayed perfectly still as Dylan cradled it
in his arms. The young actor seemed comfortable

holding the pig, and everyone on set was proud of
him. After all, he was only three.

I’M

OWNWY

THWEE!

IN STITCHES

A good movie will draw you into the story, and
you won’t give a thought to how it was made. But

there’s a lot of work that goes into bringing it all
together and creating a believable world on-screen.

Take, for instance, a sequence near the end of
the movie where the Heffley family makes their final

push to Meemaw’s house. The scene starts at the
top of a hill, where the family van has conked out.

At the bottom of the hill is Meemaw’s house,
where the party is winding down. The Heffleys

decide to roll their van down the hill to make it to
the party before it’s over.

156

It’s all part of one smooth scene, and everything
takes place in one location. Or does it?

157

In reality, the scene was shot in three completely
different locations. The hill was part of a giant

duck preserve outside of Atlanta, and there weren’t
any houses at the bottom of it — just a pond.

The digital effects team created the houses on
computers and inserted them into the shot after

filming wrapped.

Meemaw’s house was in a neighborhood in another
part of Georgia altogether.

The flying boat
wasn’t really

flying — it was
lifted in the air

by a giant crane,
and the cable was

digitally removed
later on. And when Greg is airborne at the

wheel of the boat,
he’s actually on

a soundstage in
Atlanta, working

against a green
screen. Not only

is the scene shot in different locations and at
different times,

but at certain
moments even

the actors are
different.

When the van rolls down the hill, there are
moments when stunt doubles filled in for both

Greg and Rodrick.

Even the camera operators had substitutes for this
scene. To capture footage of Meemaw’s pool from

above, a camera-carrying drone was used.

After filming was
completed, the

editor took all the
pieces and strung

them together into
one seamless scene.

Hopefully, you won’t
notice the stitching that made it possible.

160

LET'S TAKE THIS INSIDE

Once the outdoor filming wrapped, it was time to
move things indoors for the rest of the movie shoot.

There are two types of filming: on location and
on a soundstage. When you’re filming on location,

that means you’re filming in the “real world,”
which can be tricky because there’s a lot you can’t

control. Just about everything that can go wrong
often does.

But on a soundstage, the movie’s world is completely
in the director’s control.

KRACK

161

A typical soundstage is a giant building that’s
big enough to hold a jumbo jet. Since it’s indoors,

there’s no need to worry about the weather.

In fact, if you want, you can make your OWN
weather.

Most of today’s movies with lots of big special
effects are filmed on soundstages, because when

you’re spending all that money, you can’t worry
about things you can’t control. If you’ve ever seen

a movie that’s about superheroes or one that’s set
in a galaxy far, far away, chances are a lot of it

was actually filmed indoors on a soundstage.

FILMING

162

Since “The Long Haul” was about a road trip,
there weren’t that many scenes that were shot on

a soundstage. But there were a few exceptions.

The motels you see in the film are real-life
buildings, but their rooms were re-created on the

soundstage, down to the last detail.

Being on a soundstage can be a strange
experience. Most of the space looks like a dark,

empty warehouse. But the areas for filming look
like little slices of the real world.

164

The actors quickly get
used to their unusual

surroundings.

Not every soundstage
set is meant to

look like an indoor
environment. Sometimes

the filmmakers can’t
get a shot they wanted

on location, so they’ll re-create the scene on a
soundstage and pick up filming again later on.

This was the case with an outdoor pool at the
motel where the Heffleys stay on their first night.

Here’s what the original outdoor set looked like:

The pool wasn’t actually real — it was built
from scratch just for the movie. Even the

cinder-block walls are fake. They were made out
of lightweight foam and painted to look like

they’d seen better days.

Weeks after the outdoor shoot, the fake pool scene
was brought onto the soundstage and reassembled

indoors. In the movie, there are moments that
were filmed outdoors on location, and moments that

were filmed inside. When you’re watching the film,
see if you can tell the difference.

One of the best things about a soundstage is how
much room there is inside.

There’s a scene early in the movie where Greg goes
down a big slide at Corny’s. The scene is filmed

from inside the slide, and
the camera follows Greg as

he twists and turns his way
down into the ball pit.

At Corny’s restaurant,
there wasn’t room for a

giant slide. So a slide was assembled on the
soundstage, where

space isn’t an issue.

Almost all the sets on
the soundstage were

re-creations of real-life
settings. But one of

the sets didn’t have a
real-life version at all.

Greg’s bedroom only existed on the soundstage.
In the first three films, Greg had the same

room. But since the new movie had a different
actor playing Greg, giving him a new bedroom felt

like the right thing to do.

WHAM!

THE IMITATION GAME

Moviemaking’s been around a long time — over 125
years. There have been lots of famous directors

throughout filmmaking history, and one of the
most famous of

them all was Alfred
Hitchcock.

Hitchcock was
nicknamed the

“Master of Suspense,”
and for good reason.

He made films that
kept moviegoers on

the edge of their
seats. In fact, some of his movies were downright

terrifying.

Hitchcock’s work has had a huge influence on
thousands of directors who came after him. And

one of those directors was David Bowers, who
grew up watching Hitchcock’s films.

“PSYCHO”

9401

DIR.

MR.

HITCHCOCK

CAM.

J. RUSSELL

1-2960

DAY

TR86

169

In filmmaking, when one director pays tribute to
another director’s style, it’s called an “homage.”

It’s the ultimate sign of respect from one artist
to another.

In “The Long Haul,” there are two scenes
where David mimics Hitchcock’s style. One of the

scenes is where seagulls attack the Heffleys’ van.
Hitchcock directed a movie called “The Birds,” in

which people in a California town are terrorized
by flocks of — you guessed it — birds. Hitchcock’s

most famous movie
was called “Psycho,”

and it’s definitely not
for kids — or for the

faint of heart.

The most memorable
scene in the movie

takes place in a
motel bathroom.

Specifically, in a
shower.

ALFRED

HITCHCOCK’S

“The

Birds”

TECHNICOLOR

ROD

TAYLOR · JESSICA

TANDY

SUZANNE

PLESHETTE

‘TIPPI’

HEDREN

170

David created a comical version of the film’s
“shower scene” to give adults who are familiar with

Hitchcock’s terrifying masterpiece a good chuckle —
and to give kids a good scare.

GOING GREEN

When it comes to special effects, one of the most
commonly used tricks is shooting in front of a

green screen. Actors perform in front of a large
piece of green cloth, which is swapped out for a

different background in postproduction.

In the beginning of all four Wimpy Kid movies,
Greg talks directly to the audience

while holding his diar— uh, make
that journal.

The actor delivers his lines in front
of a green screen, which is replaced

by a drawing of Greg’s bedroom
later on.

172

There were other parts of the movie where a
green screen was needed. Most of these images

require no explanation, but you’ll have to see the
film to make sense of that last one.

173

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

In “The Long Haul,” there are lots of scenes
that take place inside the minivan. But shooting a

scene inside a moving car with five actors and a pig
is no easy task, so the filmmakers had to figure

out a different way to make it work.

They came up with an interesting solution. First,
a team traveled around Atlanta with a truck

that had nine cameras pointed in all different
directions. The cameras captured everything

surrounding the truck — even the sky above.

Next, a special set was built on the soundstage
with large monitors surrounding the buck car. The

footage captured weeks before was then played
back on the big screens.

174

This gives the illusion that the van is moving, and
the effect is really convincing.

175

Even when the van isn’t moving — such as the
scene where the Heffleys get lost in the woods — it’s

very hard to tell that the shots behind the van
aren’t real.

It took about a week to shoot all the scenes
inside the van. The actors had to re-create their

whole experience of filming, wearing the same
clothes they wore

throughout the
movie — and got

gooped up all over
again.

But it wasn’t mud
and cinnamon rolls all the time. If it looks like

the actors were having a blast singing along to a
Spice Girls song, it’s because they really were.

By the time things wrapped up, the cast and
crew had been through a lot together. “The Long

Haul” is about how the fictional Heffley family
comes together by taking a road trip. But in

making the movie, the actors and everyone who
helped had bonded as well.

With filming finished, everyone went their
separate ways. The actors went home, and

the director and producers went back to the
film studio to finish the last big stage of the

moviemaking process — postproduction.

178

CUT!

The postproduction phase is when all the editing,
special effects, animation, and music get done.

It’s also when the director and editor start
making tough decisions about what moments from

the film to keep and what to leave out.

There are lots of reasons for cutting footage from
a movie. Sometimes a scene is too long and needs to

be trimmed. Sometimes a moment is cut because it’s
getting in the way of the story. And sometimes

something that seemed like a good idea at the time
just doesn’t work on-screen.

It’s always hard to let go of footage, because it
took so much work to create it in the first place.

179

Here are a few moments that got filmed, but for
one reason or another didn’t make the cut.

The Corny’s scene used to be a lot longer than it
is in the final version of the film. In one part,

Greg’s dad gets his tie snipped off and put up on
the Wall of Shame, just like it happens in Book 7,

“The Third Wheel.”

SNIP

180

Another Corny’s moment that was cut from the
film is when Greg awkwardly makes eye contact

with a guy at the urinal.

Lots of other moments
were trimmed from the

movie during editing, too.
But just like the stiff

piece of underwear Greg
finds along the side of the

road, there are some things that just need to be
tossed out. Each cut

is done in the hopes
of making the movie

better.

COWGIRLS

PAGE TO SCREEN

Even though some moments from the book got
cut from the film, there were plenty of others

that made the movie. Here are some Wimpy Kid
illustrations and their real-life equivalents.

FIRST AID

182

LODED

DIPER

GOBBLE

CHEW

CHOMP

SUCK

SUCK

SUCK

183

SNUFFLE

GRUNT

Dregory

MOMMY

MEAL

NUTRITIOUS

FOOD!

FUN

ACTIVITIES!

ALL MIXED UP

TOO PUNNY

Unscramble

the words

to

find

the wacky

phrase!

Q.

Why

did

the

rabbit

like

Watership

Down?

A.

It was a

“hareraising

hareraising”

tale!

MESUMR ELRIANGN

SI NFU!

NAME THAT

NOBEL

PRIZE

WINNER!

ZZZZZZ

184

WOO-HOO !!!

RUMBLE

RUMBLE

RUMBLE

185

SCREAM!

LICK

GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS

While the editing team was piecing the film together,
a separate group was working on animating Greg’s

journal illustrations. Each drawing starts off as a
pencil sketch on paper, like this one:

The drawings are scanned into a computer, and
the artists trace over them in clean, smooth

lines. For each character,
the animators create a

“skeleton,” which helps guide
how the character moves.

The skeleton isn’t visible to
the audience, but it’s an

essential tool for the artists
to create motion.

HERE LIES

GREG

“DIAPER

HANDS”

HEFFLEY

RIP

188

The animators bring the drawings to life by
creating frame-by-frame sequences of the action.

A technique called “onion skinning” helps the
artists keep track of what the animation looks

like before and after the current frame.

In the images below, the red areas show what
happened before, and the green areas show

what will happen next.

FACING THE MUSIC

After the final changes have been made to the
film, it’s time to add the “score.” The score is the

music that sets the mood for the movie and helps
the audience know how to feel during a scene. The

music can be upbeat for a happy scene and tense
for a scary one.

To record the score, a full orchestra, complete
with drums and electric guitars, performs in front

of the screen while the movie plays. The conductor
helps the orchestra match the music with what’s

happening in the film.

Music is a very important part of a movie, but
unless you’re really paying close attention, you

won’t always notice it. But sometimes, the score is
front and center.

For the motel shower scene, the iconic violin
screeching from the movie “Psycho” was used to

add tension to the scene.

Getting the score finished is the last major step
in the moviemaking process. And once it’s finished,

it’s time to bring it out into the world.

SCREE!!!

SCREE!!!

SCREE!!!

SCREE!!!

NOT

GOOD!

191

GETTING THE WORD OUT

Before a film is completely finished, the marketing
department starts telling people that the movie

is coming. This step is a huge part of the success
of a motion picture, because if the public doesn’t

know that a film is in theaters, even if it’s
great, it won’t do well.

One of the most important tools the marketing
department has is the “trailer.” A trailer is a

short clip that gives the public a sense of what to
expect in a film. Creating a good trailer is an art

form. You want to show enough of the good parts
of the movie to get people excited — but not TOO

much, or they won’t need to see the film.

OH, COME

ON!

SPLASH!

But the trailer is just one tool the marketing
department has to reach filmgoers. The average

person has to hear about a movie multiple times for
it to really sink in that the movie is coming out.

That makes marketing very expensive. Sometimes
a movie studio will spend just as much money

marketing a movie as it does MAKING the film.
And the bigger the movie, the more money that

goes into marketing.

NIGHT

CRAWLERS

Night

of the

NIGHT

CRAWLERS

193

The marketing department creates giant billboards,
commercials on television, ads on buses and in

magazines, social media posts, and displays in movie
theaters to make sure people know about the film.

Here are a handful of the concepts that the
marketing team put together to spread the word

about “The Long Haul.”

A

Wimp

WILLRISE

DIARY

of a

Wimpy Kid

THE

LONG

HAUL

MAY 19

FAMILY

ROAD

TRIPS

STINK.

DIARY

of a

Wimpy Kid

THE

LONG

HAUL

MAY 19

194

DIARY

of a

Wimpy Kid

THE

LONG

HAUL

MAY 19

195

A

HERO

WILL RIDE

DIARY

of a

Wimpy

Kid

THE

LONG

HAUL

MAY 19

196

END OF THE ROAD?

Making “The Long Haul” was an epic experience
for everyone involved. It was hard work, but by

the end the actors, the filmmakers, and everyone
else who participated grew from the journey.

For the Kinney family, the movie created a chance
to reconnect. These days, they live in different

parts of the country, but filming brought them
together in Atlanta.

Who knows what’s next for the Heffley family?
Will they be in more films, or have they reached

the end of the road? That’s up to audiences
to decide. But whatever the case, it’s been an

amazing trip so far.

197

198

CREDITS

FOX 2000 PICTURES Presents

A COLOR FORCE Production

“DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: THE LONG HAUL”

JASON DRUCKER
ALICIA SILVERSTONE
TOM EVERETT SCOTT
CHARLIE WRIGHT
OWEN ASZTALOS

Costume Designer
MARY CLAIRE HANNAN

Music Supervisor
JULIA MICHELS

Music by
EDWARD SHEARMUR

Film Editor
TROY TAKAKI, ACE

Production Designer
AARON OSBORNE

Director of Photography
ANTHONY B. RICHMOND, ASC/BSC

Executive Producers
JEFF KINNEY
TIMOTHY M. BOURNE
DAVID BOWERS

Produced by
NINA JACOBSON, P.G.A.
BRAD SIMPSON, P.G.A.

Based upon the book by
JEFF KINNEY

Screenplay by
JEFF KINNEY and DAVID BOWERS

Directed by
DAVID BOWERS

© 2017 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, WIMPY KID and the Greg Heffley image are trademarks of Wimpy Kid, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Illustrations are © 2010 Wimpy Kid, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

FOX 2000 PICTURES

PRESENTS A

COLOR FORCE

PRODUCTION

“DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: THE LONG HAUL”

JASON DRUCKER ALICIA SILVERSTONE TOM EVERETT SCOTT CHARLIE WRIGHT OWEN ASZTALOS

COSTUME

DESIGNER

MARY CLAIRE HANNAN

MUSIC

SUPERVISOR

JULIA MICHELS

MUSIC

BY

EDWARD SHEARMUR

FILM

EDITOR

EDWARD SHEARMUR,

ACE

PRODUCTION

DESIGNER

AARON OSBORNE

DIRECTOR OF

PHOTOGRAPHY

ANTHONY B. RICHMOND,

ASC/BSC

EXECUTIVE

PRODUCERS

JEFF KINNEY TIMOTHY M. BOURNE DAVID BOWERS

PRODUCED

BY

NINA JACOBSON,

p.g.a.

BRAD SIMPSON,

p.g.a.

BASED UPON

THE BOOK BY

JEFF KINNEY

SCREENPLAY

BY

JEFF KINNEY

AND

DAVID BOWERS

DIRECTED

BY

DAVID BOWERS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanks to everyone who helped me put this book together. Thanks

to Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson for being my partners on the

Wimpy Kid films. Thanks to David Bowers for directing The Long

Haul, for your insights into filmmaking, and for the bonus photos

and storyboards. Thanks to Dan McFadden for the fantastic unit

photography and for helping kids get a behind-the-scenes look at

the moviemaking process. Thanks to Aaron Osborne for bringing the

Wimpy Kid universe to life with so much enthusiasm and joy. Thanks

to Ken Terry for getting me the shots I needed during your crunch

time. And thanks to Rose Locke for being so much fun.

Thanks to everyone at Fox, especially Elizabeth Gabler and Greg

Moridian, for being champions of these books. Thanks to Nick D’Angelo

for helping get this movie off the ground. Thanks to the production

team, art department, and to all the graphic artists, set designers, and

set decorators whose work I’ve displayed in this book. Thanks to Tony

O’Dell for returning to the Wimpy Kid movies as an acting coach and

for being a good friend. Thanks to Max Graenitz and your team for

doing such a great job of animating the characters. Thanks to Nicole

Spiegel for all your help in pushing this project forward!

Thanks to Jason Drucker and the entire cast for being such a big part

of the Wimpy world.

Thanks to all the great folks at Abrams for pulling off the impossible and

getting this book out on time, especially Charlie Kochman, Samantha

Hoback, Amy Vreeland, Masha Gunic, Chad W. Beckerman, Veronica

Wasserman, and Alison Gervais.

Thanks to my agent, Sylvie Rabineau, for being a guiding force and a

great friend. Thanks to my lawyers, Paul Sennott and Keith Fleer, for

all your help over the years.

GO ON A MOVIE-MAKING

JOURNEY

OF EPIC PROPORTIONS IN

THE WIMPY KID MOVIE DIARY:

THE NEXT CHAPTER

Making a movie is a lot like going on a road trip. There are twists

and turns and lots of surprises along the way.

Hit the road with author and illustrator Jeff Kinney and get a

behind-the-scenes look at the making of the latest 20th Century

Fox movie, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul.

Find out what it takes to film a flock of seagulls invading a minivan.

Learn about a robot pig and an animatronic three-year-old. And

discover everything that goes into making a feature film.

Complete with exclusive set photos, storyboards, and original

cartoons by Jeff Kinney, The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary: The Next

Chapter is the perfect book for anyone who's ever wondered how

a movie gets made. But buckle up: You're in for a wild ride!

wimpykid.com

@wimpykid

Amulet Books

An imprint of ABRAMS

amuletbooks.com

@abramskids