Fred Gets a Movie!

Fred Gets a Movie!

TFK chats with Lucas Cruikshank, creator of Internet sensation Fred

Millions of people have watched Internet sensation Fred Figglehorn on YouTube. The fictional, fast-talking 6-year-old has video blogged about going to the dentist, getting a haircut and even about microwaving dinner for his crush, Judy. Now, fans can watch Fred in his very own original TV movie, premiering September 18 on Nickelodeon.

Fred: The Movie follows the kindergartner as he goes on a wacky journey to find Judy after she moves away. Nebraska native Lucas Cruikshank, 17, plays Fred. Lucas created the quirky character about four years ago, and introduced Fred to Web audiences in 2008. The actor spoke to TFK about Fred's latest adventure.

TFK:

When did you first start making videos?

LUCAS:

I've been making videos for as long as I can remember. For my 13th birthday, I got a digital video camera, which meant I could put the videos I recorded onto the computer and edit them and add special effects. Then someone told me about YouTube. So I asked my parents for permission, and uploaded my videos. The rest just exploded. It's all been a really big surprise.

TFK:

How did the idea for Fred come about, and why did you decide to make him 6 years old?

LUCAS:

I'd seen some video blogs, and I wanted to joke about how self-absorbed video bloggers are. It's pretty much like they're posting their diaries for everyone to see on the Internet. I always thought that was funny and never understood it. Also, I thought it was funny how kids around the ages of 6 and 7 act. They're always throwing tantrums and so serious about everything and so innocent. That's why I made Fred 6 years old.

TFK:

Were you anything like Fred when you were younger?

LUCAS:

I hope I wasn't nearly as crazy or annoying as Fred. But I'm sure at times I was Fred-ish.

TFK:

What was your goal when you posted that first video?

LUCAS:

My goal was to entertain my friends. I would've been happy if I had made 10 people laugh. But to know that some of my videos have over 10 million views is crazy. When I posted the first video, I wasn't expecting any of that.

TFK:

What do you think makes Fred so popular?

LUCAS:

I think Fred is popular because it's content for teens that is made by a teen. Also, I think kids can relate to Fred not being able to fit in at school. It's fun watching someone who doesn't have very much make the most of his life, instead of moping around. The comedy helps the popularity, too. It's this really random humor.

TFK:

What's your favorite Fred episode so far?

LUCAS:

Probably "Fred Stalks Judy." That's always been my favorite. It's about Fred wanting to give a gift to Judy. He is always trying to win her over. In the episode, he goes over to her house and nobody is home. So, he invites himself over and is creeping around Judy's house.

TFK:

With your videos, you're in charge of everything. What was it like having someone else take the reins for the movie?

LUCAS:

It was definitely kind of scary at first to give other people the power to make decisions about Fred. Luckily, they still let me give creative input and were open to my ideas. The team really wanted to stay true to the character.

TFK:

What did you think about the casting for the movie?

LUCAS:

The casting was dead on. It's how I had always imagined the other characters to be. I got to help with casting, and I sat in on a few auditions. We picked some really great people. Jeannette McCurdy from iCarly plays Bertha, who is Fred's "frenemy." And Pixie Lott, this famous British pop singer, plays Judy.

TFK:

What was your favorite scene to shoot?

LUCAS:

My favorite is the pet store scene. It was really fun working with the two actors in the scene. Oscar Nu鎑z is from The Office and Jordan Black is a big [comedy] guy. And also we were around animals the whole day! That was fun.

TFK:

What can fans expect from Fred: The Movie?

LUCAS:

Fans can expect to see a lot more of Fred. The videos are limited to what you see Fred doing, as in any other video blog. Usually, you just see Fred when he's video blogging—you don't actually see him interact with other people in the real world. So it'll be fun for fans to see Fred out in the real world. They're going to see all of the other characters in the Fred story come to life.

Max- At first, I don’t really know Fred when I was younger, but after I saw a “The Annoying Orange” video clip (which is also funny and annoying), I decided to watch Fred too. After I saw a video about Fred, I think it was funny and it made me laugh a lot. After that, I always want to watch Fred in YouTube, and I want to see some more new Fred videos. After I searched Wikipedia, I finally know he maybe used a voice changer or it maybe can let him talk faster after the video was recorded (because his voice was too high). I very like some of those Fred videos, like “Fred in May Day”, which Fred got hit by a cup, and Judy wears his mom’s underwear on Fred’s head. I also like “Fred Goes Swimming”, which he played in his baby pool with his floaties and he peed in the pool and something else (that screaming and water splashing effects lets me laugh so much!). I never thought about Fred is making his own movie. After I saw the announcement video of Fred’s movie, I think this movie would be funny as I thought. I really going forward to watch Fred’s movie!

Meet Author Mary Pope Osborne

Meet Author Mary Pope Osborne

The latest book in her Magic Tree House series hits shelves this week

By Rachael Horowitz

Author Mary Pope Osborne is the imagination behind the popular Magic Tree House series. In her latest book, A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time, Jack and Annie, the brother and sister team, travel to Victorian England to bring inspiration to writer Charles Dickens. Magic Tree House #44: A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time and its non-fiction companion, Rags and Riches: Kids in the Time of Charles Dickens, hit bookstores on September 14. Osborne talked to TFK about the importance of creativity and how she comes up with the ideas for Jack and Annie's amazing adventures.

TFK:

Did you always know you wanted to be an author?

OSBORNE:

I never imagined as a kid that I could be an author. The most writing we ever did was a book report or a social studies report. But, I did love to live in my imagination and I was always pretending. The banister in my house was a horse that I would get on and ride. The tree in the yard was a fort that I would climb up into. The picnic table was a ship that my brothers and I would climb on and pretend we were going around the world. We were always in our imaginations. When I was a young adult, I thought I wanted to be in theater. I loved the pretend element, but what I did not love was that I was not making up my own lines.

TFK:

You didn't write when you were younger?

OSBORNE:

No, I never did. When I first started writing, I wrote poetry. Then I had to learn how to tell a story. I always found it fun. My idea is: just write. Even if you write badly, write. Don't judge yourself so harshly. Writing is hard work, but try to always have fun as if you were playing in your yard and creating another world.

TFK:

How did you come up with the idea for Magic Tree House?

OSBORNE:

After I'd published about 20 books of all kinds—mythology, picture books, novels, biographies, fairy tales—I began work on Magic Tree House. After seven different drafts, my husband and I came upon a tree house in the woods in Pennsylvania. Both of us started talking about how we always wished we had a tree house and the next thing I knew, I had it. Now I'm working on the 45th book, almost 20 years later.

TFK:

Why write for children?

OSBORNE:

If you write for children, there are so many different things you can write about. You can write mythology, you can write non-fiction, you can write picture books about horses that fly through the night, like my book, Moonhorse. You have to get a lot across with fewer words, so the words have to really live, they can't just lie there and be skimmed over.

TFK:

One of the themes in Magic Tree House is creativity. Why do you think that's an important message?

OSBORNE:

I think our lives are so improved if we have big imaginations. If we're in a bad situation, we can imagine a good situation. If we're facing a problem, we can imagine the solution. If we are bored, we can imagine something that will entertain us. If you can develop your imagination, no matter how you use it, I think you'll have a richer life.

TFK:

What's your writing process?

OSBORNE:

I'm always looking for subjects. I can hardly read a newspaper or have a conversation without thinking about a subject. When I find a few subjects for future books, I often have kids vote on those ideas.

I think because I started writing in New York City, I wrote all over the place. I wrote in libraries. I wrote in cafes. I wrote in parks. I even used to ride the Staten Island Ferry back and forth and write on the ferry. I'm always in training. I feel like I can never learn enough about writing.

TFK:

How did you decide to start doing the non-fiction companions to the Magic Tree House books?

OSBORNE:

Teachers have played a big part in Magic Tree House. They were the first to make the books popular by using them in their classrooms. I would say it was inspired by conversations I'd had with teachers. Also, some kids prefer non-fiction, so it's a way to bring them into reading with something they really like.

TFK:

How many more Magic Tree House books can readers expect?

OSBORNE:

As long as I've got the energy and have a good mind I think I'll keep doing it because it's so much fun. I'm just so attached to Jack and Annie and I love to think of things to throw at them and find out what they do. At this point, they almost have their own lives separate from me.

Max- I like the Magic Tree House series, because they have an adventure every time, and no matter from the first book to this book that just hit the shelves, I think that was exciting! I often read these kinds of books in Caves Books, and at first I didn’t like it, though, but after I read it, I think this was good! After, I first read those books by random, and after I finished, I read Magic Tree House Books that just hit the Taiwan’s bookshelves (from Book 37-43). In Magic Tree House, Jack and Annie travel through time and places, and I thought- that was cool! And they met many people, from Morgan and Merlin to Teddy and Kathleen. I think the magic they used from the series are very cool too (I think the spell “Turn into Ducks” was still the funniest). I hope the Magic Tree House series will keep on going, because I want to see more exciting adventures! But, the most I like in the series is they help people in need, beat the villains, and always finish the quest in time (or the series wouldn’t continue). This is the best series after all!

Wildfires Rip Through Colorado

Wildfires Rip Through Colorado

A fast-moving wildfire destroys dozens of homes near Boulder

By Claudia Atticot

Strong winds—some with gusts of 45 miles per hour—spread a large wildfire through Fourmile Canyon near Boulder, Colorado, on Monday morning. The blaze forced more than 3,000 people out of their homes. So far, officials say about 1,000 homes have been evacuated and dozens have been destroyed.

ED ANDRIESKIP Dee Spencer, right, lost her home near Boulder, Colorado, in the wildfire.

Fast-Moving Flames

The five-square-mile blaze spread quickly through three canyons, causing officials to close roads. Giant plumes of smoke filled the sky, some of which could be seen for miles.

Tom Neur, whose house was destroyed by the fire, drove through a wall of flames to escape the fast-moving fire. "The bumper is melted off in the front of the van," he said. His wife, Anna, who had been evacuated earlier, was relieved to hear that he had survived the blaze. "I don't care about the house," she told him. "I'm just glad you're ok."

No Cause Yet

Officials say they have not determined the cause of the fire, but area residents think dry weather is to blame. "We haven't had any rain in almost a month. Maybe more than a month," said Craig Douglas, who was forced to leave his home. "The humidity the last couple of days had been in the single digits, so it was a fire waiting to happen."

Nancy Engellenner and her husband Philip Helper believe they may have lost their home in the fire. "The way the wind was, it was just spitting flames everywhere," said Engellenner. They won't know for sure until it's safe to return to the area.

Although high winds make the fire difficult to control, firefighters hope to have it completely under control by Tuesday.

Max- The forest fires are very scary, and can let people die! Thousands of homes were being destroyed, but no one was hurt. Maybe the cause of the forest fire was just a little cigarette, or it maybe was global warming caused it to burn the forest. I think forest fires will often occur in Australia and California, because by its hot weather, and some other tropical places. Forest fires are hard to control by water (It may take a few days), and forest fires are not only dangerous about its quick blaze, the smoke will also pollute the air, and let the residents very hard to breathe, and choke to death. The burning smoke will float to the atmosphere, and let Earth hotter than before because of global warming. This may cause a vicious circle, which global warming first cause forest fires and the smoke from forest fires float to the atmosphere to let global warming stronger. I think forest fires can burn the trees, and break the forest. And the fires can burn their homes, and let many people homeless. So I hate forest fires, because we will die, or homeless, and everything can happen when the fires started!

Warning! Check Your Eggs

Warning! Check Your Eggs

More than half a billion eggs are recalled after being tied to a nationwide salmonella outbreak

By Andrea Delbanco

Egg eaters, beware. More than half a billion eggs have been pulled off of grocery store shelves across the country after a recall began on August 13. The tainted eggs are linked to an outbreak of salmonella poisoning. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the number of related illnesses at 1,300, and believes that number could continue to grow.

The cause of the outbreak is not yet known, but many of the infected eggs have been linked to two farms in Iowa, Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms. The farms share suppliers of chicken and feed. Tainted eggs were distributed in several states, including California, Illinois, Missouri, Colorado, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.

What is Salmonella?

Salmonella, a harmful bacteria, is often carried by birds and reptiles. The bacteria can also be found in water, soil, raw meats and eggs. It can be on both the outside and inside of eggs that appear to be normal. If the eggs are eaten raw or undercooked, it can cause illness.

Eating food infected with salmonella can make people sick. It can even be deadly. The most common symptoms of salmonella infection are diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever. Babies and the elderly are most affected.

How To Stay Safe

The FDA oversees safety inspections of shell eggs. After the tainted egg outbreak, Margaret Hamburg, chief of the Food and Drug Administration, said the agency must do more to prevent such outbreaks, rather than contain them after they start. "We need better abilities and authorities to put in place these preventive controls and hold companies accountable," says Hamburg.

While the FDA works to insure safety nationally, there are important steps you can take to insure your own safety. Check your cartons to be sure the eggs in your refrigerator aren't affected by the recall. And always cook your eggs thoroughly before eating them, since high temperatures can kill harmful bacteria. Reject runny yolks at home and at restaurants. Go to here for a list of recalled egg brands, and to learn more.

Max- This type of germs is really dangerous, and may die after you eat food with that kind of germ on it. This kind of germ, called Salmonella, is dangerous (I thought it was a deadly germ which grows on salmon). This time, eggs were being poisoned by Salmonella, and out of the shelves. I think many people would have Salmonella germs on it and die, because many people buy eggs. And, what an enormous number of eggs which have Salmonella germs on it! So we should not eat eggs without cooking it (the same meaning of raw eggs). The U.S. really needs to carefully check the eggs next time to avoid selling eggs with Salmonella on it. I think maybe Salmonella germs will also affect other foods, from cows, to sheep, or even marine mammals. So next time, we really need to watch out dangerous and deadly Salmonella germs!