If you’ve got an elementary-school-age kid at home, chances are you’ve also got a few copies of the Diary of Wimpy Kid book series by Jeff Kinney on your book shelf. Which means you’ve no doubt heard that the movie version of the New York Times best-selling first book, a fictional journal (not diary) recounting of the tribulations of 11-year-old Greg Heffley’s first year in middle school, opens today.

We got a chance to meet with Kinney and two of the movie’s stars, Zachary Gordon (Greg) and Robert Capron (his best friend Rowley), last week to talk about the things all Wimpy kid fans like to talk about: moldy cheese, Poptropica and strategies for surviving middle school.

Zach and Robert, had you read the Wimpy Kid books before you auditioned?

Zach Gordon: When a friend first told me about the books, I was like, “But they have so many pages!” But once I started reading, I became a huge fan and decided I wanted to write and direct the movie version. Then I heard someone else had the same idea. I slept with the books under my pillow for good luck during the audition.

Robert Capron: I love the books. It was an honor to be in the audition process and so cool. I had to be nice to, respect the process.

Jeff, how much of the book was based on your own life?

Jeff Kinney: My older brother really did trick me into thinking the first day of school started one morning in the middle of summer. But it’s not autobiographical, even though there’s a lot of my childhood DNA in all of these characters. Greg is an exaggeration of the worst parts of me as both a kid and an adult. Everyone can be selfish, petty and manipulative. He’s just a kid caught in the camera’s glare at the worst part of life.

Those years are such a conspicuous time. Elementary school is six or seven years long, high school is four years long, then you have this short stint in the middle when it feels like no one knows what to do with you. I really felt like they were segregating us from the general population during those years. It’s like you’re in your larval stage.

Zach and Greg, you both started middle school after you finished working on the movie. How’s it stacking up so far?

ZG: I was extremely scared to go back to school; scared it would be like it was for Greg. Some kids get picked on, but thankfully not me.

RC:  My experience so far has been a lot like Greg’s. All of a sudden there’s all these tall people with faint wisps of mustaches. Kids “date” or something like that. It’s definitely a lot different than elementary school; there’s a lot more freedom. I’m definitely not listening to [Greg's big brother] Rodrick’s advice (basically, to keep his head down and not talk to anyone), though. I like hanging out with my friends and a lot of different people.

No moldy cheese your the school yards?

ZG: Blech. No way.

RC: Thankfully, no! I love the new “Beat the Cheese Touch” game on Poptropica, though.

So, you guys spend a lot of time on Poptropica (the virtual world and online game created by Kinney at his “day job” at Funbrain.com)?

RC: I started playing way before the movie. I was already a fan of the [Wimpy Kid] books, so I had to check it out. I have like five different accounts to try to set some records.

I understand there’s going to be a Wimpy Kid Island on Poptropica soon?

JK: It’s true; in the next few months kids will be able  access it.

ZG: You can make yourself into a wimpy kid drawing at wimpyourself.com. It’s so cool.

Any plans for a sequel based on the next book, Rodrick Rules?

JK: The screenwriters are already working on a treatment.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is in theaters now.