KIDS FIRST! News

With Fox Home Entertainment’s release Aug. 3 of Diary of a Wimpy Kid on Blu-ray and DVD, you can welcome gangly pre-teen Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) into your home for a dose of survival techniques ala middle school. The 92-minute family comedy is based on the best-selling illustrated novel of the same name by Jeff Kinney, and brings to life Greg’s thoughts — his hopes as well as his version of schoolyard drama at “the dumbest idea ever invented” (middle school) and tribulations at home — as he recorded them in his journal.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is especially suited to eight- to 12-year-olds. It is one of the seven titles on the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Search, which invites kids aged six to 15 compete for a chance to be a recognized film critic for 12 months – attending red carpet events and interviewing stars as well as reviewing new films ahead of their theatrical release for KIDS FIRST! and our media partners. Written reviews will be accepted for the contest up to October 10, and upon acceptance, KIDS FIRST! will send the applicants instructions on creating a videotaped review that will be posted on WonderWorldTV.com for public vote. And the excitement culminates on the Nov. 12 – 14 weekend, when KIDS FIRST! will attempt to set a world’s record of one million kids “viewing and reviewing” the same film (The Velveteen Rabbit) on the same weekend, together with a caring adult.

KIDS FIRST! has developed a discussion guide for Diary of a Wimpy Kid  (and for each of the seven titles – just click on the title where it’s listed on the right side of the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Campaign page) to assist our budding reviewers — as well as to facilitate parent-child conversation about key topics touched upon in the film. The guide includes paragraphs that describe specific scenes, to help you recall the particular situation and to help define the scope of the discussion, followed by talking points that put the experience into a personal context for the viewer/reviewer:
  Description: The tag line for this movie is “I’ll be famous one day, but for now I’m stuck in middle school with a bunch of morons.” Greg considers junior high school a place rigged with hundreds of social landmines, not the least of which are wedgies, swirlies, bullies and lunchtime banishment of the cafeteria floor. His diary — or “journal” — chronicles his thoughts, tales of family trials and tribulations, and (would be) schoolyard triumphs.
  Discuss: Can you relate to the theme of this movie? If you haven’t started middle school yet, what are your thoughts and concerns about it? If you are already in middle school — talk about your most memorable adventure.

The word on Diary of a Wimpy Kid from kid juror Lauren Boxer (age 11) is:
Diary of a Wimpy Kid shows us wimpy is cool and in style. You may say, “No it isn’t,” but you are wrong. It shows us the ups and downs of middle school, and trust me, it is all in there. One thing I was disappointed about before I saw it was it wasn’t animation. But now, I am standing corrected. Zachary Gordon is actually what I would imagine Greg Heffley would be in real life. This is a movie I definitely recommend, and Thor Freundenthal (director), Jackie & Jeff Filgo (screenwriters), and, last but not least, Jeff Kinney (the book’s author and executive producer) all did a great job.

And check out all the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics Search titles now available on DVD at Amazon.com.

Kids who love movies and love to talk about them — universal attributes, right, parents? — are being offered the chance of a lifetime as KIDS FIRST! launches our first annual Film Critics’ Search on August 1. We’d like kids to hear from other kids what they think of a movie, so to start things off we’ve selected seven films for them to choose from to share their thoughts about: Tom and Jerry Meet Sherlock Holmes, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Furry Vengeance, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, The Secret of Moonacre, Jumping for Joy and The Velveteen Rabbit.

On our website, KIDS FIRST! will have discussion guides available for each of the films and general tips for youth reviewers. Kids aged six to 15 have until October 10 to send us their written review of their chosen film or films. Upon acceptance of their written review, they will be sent instructions for submitting a videotaped review and have until October 20 to submit that. The videotaped reviews will be posted on KIDS FIRST!’s partner site, WonderWorldTV.com, where the public will vote on the reviews and narrow the field to 20 finalists. The five winners will then be chosen by a panel of celebrity judges.

And then they’ll experience life as a film critic for 12 months — being among the first to view new theatrical releases and writing blogs and reviews for KIDS FIRST! and our media partners, and even attending red carpet events and interviewing the celebrities there. Wow! And not only is it fun, it’s educationally sound: Visual media is a pervasive element of contemporary life, and we’ve developed our KIDS FIRST! Film Critics program to encourage an active rather than passive response — a vital visual literacy whereby kids learn to critique as well as write reviews about media they enjoy.

KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search will culminate in a grand finale Film Critics Weekend (November 12 – 14) that will include a KIDS FIRST! first as we attempt to set a world’s record of one million kids “viewing and reviewing” the same film on the same weekend, together with a caring adult. Imagine! A million kids riffing on the same film at the same time. The Velveteen Rabbit has been chosen for this record-breaking event. A discussion guide to help parents and kids explore ideas in the film is available on the KIDS FIRST! website. 

Our sponsors are as enthusiastic about KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Search as we are. Feature Films for Families will present a $10,000 scholarship to the best review of their film, The Velveteen Rabbit. Each of the five winners will see their review posted on WonderWorld’s website. Starz Kids & Family Channel will be playing The Velveteen Rabbit throughout the campaign and on the Finale Weekend. DVDs of all the search titles will be available at Toys R Us and online at Amazon.com. Campaign support comes from national nonprofit organizations that include the National Education Association, Reel Fathers, National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Council of Women’s Organizations, with a cumulative 17+ million members. Stepping Stone Media is donating a percentage of The Velveteen Rabbit DVD sales to KIDS FIRST! and to any nonprofit organization that becomes an affiliate of the campaign.

Visit http://www.kidsfirst.org/become-a-juror/FilmCriticsCampaign.html for more information about the KIDS FIRST! Film Critics’ Campaign, discussion guides for each of the seven entry choices, and guides for creating both a written review and a video review (to be available by Aug. 1). Also find information on fundraising opportunities for organizations through the KIDS FIRST! affiliate program.

Congratulations, Joshua Carlson! This teenager from Minnesota with a passion for independent film recently won a trip to Florida when he won the KIDS FIRST! Orlando Makes me Smile contest.

KIDS FIRST! teamed up with the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. and the Florida Film Festival for this short film competition with a theme focused on fostering family relationships and the joyful experiences that can be found in Orlando. Carlson won a family vacation for four in Orlando, complete with airfare, lodging, theme park tickets and all access filmmaker passes for the Florida Film Festival, April 9 through 18, 2010. In an email interview, Carlson tells us a bit more about his work and travel experience.

JC: When I was 5 I realized I loved movies and everything that went into making them.  When I turned 12 I got my first video camera and I started making video’s with my family and I knew this was my passion. My first was a stop motion animation movie called Justice Heros.

CP: How did your family show support?

JC: They have encouraged me to pursue my dreams by getting training and learning what was really good equipment to use.

JC: My sisters have acted in some of my films and they also have written most of the music. My parents have taken me to locations for shoots and helped me get equipment and have let me spend extra time working on my dreams of making films.

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