World premiere of 'Wimpy Kid' movie at Virginia school
An elementary school is not a typical setting for big Hollywood movie openings. But Riverside Elementary in Alexandria, Va., beat out 5,000 schools from across the country in a contest to host the world premiere of the movie “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.”
Thursday, in the school gymnasium, after classes end, Riverside kids will meet Jeff Kinney, author of the best-selling illustrated novel from which the movie was made, and the movie’s cast. Then they will watch the movie. Only kids from the school can attend. Even the press can't get screening passes!
The book was the first in a widely popular series that has sold 24 million copies. The main character is a wise-cracking kid named Greg Heffley who takes readers on his journey through the traumas of middle school.
All Riverside Elementary had to do to win was to enter the contest--sponsored by the School Library Journal and the National Education Association--by submitting a simple application. The school was then lucky enough to have that application pulled from the thousands in a recent random drawing.
Kinney, who was born in Maryland and attended the University of Maryland, has his own Web site, www.wimpykid.com. It includes his blog and some fun activities for kids. There is also a countdown--by the second--to when the movie will be in theaters this Friday.
But not before Riverside Elementary gets to see it!
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By
Valerie Strauss
| March 17, 2010; 1:43 PM ET
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Posted by: mattandyianna | March 17, 2010 4:57 PM | Report abuse
The author is correct to say that Riverside is in Alexandria, VA. The school IS in Alexandria, which is part of Fairfax County, which is different than Fairfax, VA and different than the City of Fairfax. It might be confusing, with all the identical names of cities and counties around here, but why does it matter, anyway?
Posted by: lauratovey | March 17, 2010 5:40 PM | Report abuse
Not to get in the middle of this, but a better description would have been "the Alexandria section of Fairfax County." My understanding is that some time ago, people who live(d) in that part of the County petitioned the postal service for a change in their zip code, not unlike another part of the County that was once called Lorton but petitioned to be rebranded as Fairfax Station.
I suppose that there is more cache (and ostensibly, higher resale value) in having your neighborhood adopt another zip code such as 'Alexandria' or 'Fairfax Station' or (insert name), but the truth is that FAIRFAX COUNTY is a terrific place to live and Fairfax County Public Schools rank among the best in the nation.
Alexandria, for all of its attributes, lacks the world-class school system that we have in Fairfax County so I guess when the realtor lists a home for sale as being in 'Alexandria' with the schools zoned for that home listed as Fairfax County public schools, then the sellers get to have their cake and eat it too. Of course, their cake is probably catered by an Executive Pastry Chef while the rest of us are get to dine with our good friend Betty Crocker!
Posted by: HigherEducationAdvocate | March 17, 2010 10:24 PM | Report abuse
Just wanted to let you know that my daughter's elementary school in Hillsborugh, NJ was actually the first to see it in New York City a couple of weeks ago in a Manhatten theater. A phenomenal film for all and one that certainly will be enjoyed
Posted by: tuckman30 | March 18, 2010 9:47 AM | Report abuse
The comments to this entry are closed.
This school is not in Alexandria, it's in Fairfax. It's true that a large section of Fairfax is informally called "Alexandria", and in some contexts I suppose that doesn't matter too much, but when it comes to schools, the jurisdictions do make a significant different. It's a Fairfax school, not an Alexandria school.