Judy Moody's humorous mood swings and adventures have won her many fans since her first appearance in 2000. Published by Candlewick, Megan McDonald's original Judy Moody spawned eight subsequent novels starring this character, plus three featuring her and her spunky brother, Stink (who is featured in his own series, now totaling eight books); two activity books; a coloring book; and a journal—all illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. The series is now available in 22 languages, has won more than 30 awards, and has a worldwide in-print tally of 14 million copies.
On June 10, Judy hits the big screen with the release of Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer, a film produced by Smokewood Entertainment and distributed by Relativity Media. The screenplay was co-written by McDonald, who is at BEA to help celebrate the film's debut and Candlewick's six tie-ins. The movie introduces a brand-new story line that follows Judy and Stink's unexpectedly adventure-filled summer with their eccentric aunt.
Acknowledging that writing a screenplay is "completely different" from writing a novel, McDonald says she "watched lots of kids' movies to get into the spirit" before tackling the project with co-writer Kathy Waugh. "She is one of my oldest friends and a brilliant screenwriter, and collaborating with her has always been a pipedream of mine," says McDonald. "This taught me a whole new way of thinking visually, since you have to create each scene with very few words and lots of action. The best thing I learned to do was play the movie inside my head—over and over."
Helping to give Judy Moody new life on-screen was "really a thrill," notes McDonald, who was on the set every day of the movie's three-month filming. "I had input each step of the way, and the crew went to painstaking effort to make sure every detail was true to the book, which makes me feel very lucky," she says. The movie's producer, Sarah Siegel-Magness, read the first Judy Moody book aloud with her daughter years ago, after the girl's school librarian recommended it to her. "I think it's kind of neat that Sarah wanted to make a movie about the book—and that it all started with a librarian getting the book into her daughter's hand," says McDonald.
McDonald's visit to BEA is part of her 10-city tour to promote the movie and Candlewick's tie-ins, which include Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer, a novelization released this week with a 250,000-copy first printing; Judy Moody Goes to Hollywood, a behind-the-scenes look at the film, which has a 150,000-copy first printing; So You Want to Catch Bigfoot? a "field guide" by Morgan Jackson, illus. by Mark Fearing; Judy Moody and the Thrill Points Race and Judy Moody and the Poop Picnic, chapter books by Jamie Michalak; and Judy Moody's Thrill-a-delic Hunt for Bigfoot, an activity book by Jackson.
McDonald will autograph copies of the novelization today, 10–11 a.m., at a ticketed signing at Table 28. This afternoon at 2 p.m., she'll appear on the Midtown Author Stage with Jordana Beatty, who plays Judy Moody in the film, and Parris Mosteller, who plays Stink. The movie trailer will be shown, and a discussion among the author and actors will follow, along with a q&a with the audience.
After that event, McDonald, Beatty, and Mosteller will be at Candlewick's booth (2452), 2:20–3 p.m., giving out tie-dye cupcakes, posing for photos, and signing mini movie posters. Other Judy Moody giveaways include boas, T-shirts, pencils, bookmarks, and sunglasses. The publisher is also holding a raffle for movie tie-in goodies.
