EXCLUSIVE: AFA, the production company and talent incubator of Kenan Thompson and Johnny Ryan Jr., has acquired remake rights to Sleepaway Camp, the cult classic ’80s slasher from writer-director Robert Hiltzik.
Specifics as to AFA’s take on the material are under wraps for immediately. But AFA has placed Hiltzik back at the helm to direct from his own script. While for decades, Hiltzik and his wife have been approached for rights to the franchise, they’ve held out in hopes of a scenario where they can be involved in revitalizing the franchise. To Thompson and Ryan Jr., whose AFA places an emphasis on keeping creative control and ownership with the musician, keeping the original architects of the franchise at the forefront of its evolution is a given.
Released in 1983, Sleepaway Camp is a low-budget summer-camp slasher in which a shy teen’s summer at Camp Arawak turns deadly as campers are murdered one by one. The film plays like a whodunit in the Friday the 13th mold and is famous for an iconic twisty finale. Hiltzik shot it at Camp Algonquin in Argyle, New York, which he attended as a kid. Made for roughly $350,000, with a cast of unknowns, the film grossed around $11 million and has endured as a cult favorite, spurring a number of sequels spanning decades. Michael A. Simpson took the reins on sequels Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988) and Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland (1989), which starred Pamela Springsteen (yes, Bruce’s sister). Hiltzik returned for 2008’s Return to Sleepaway Camp, with Jim Markovic helming 2012’s Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor.
No stranger to summer camp, having starred opposite Ben Stiller in the Steven Brill & Judd Apatow-penned kids’ classic Heavyweights at the start of his career, Thompson will produce the reimagining for AFA alongside Ryan Jr., with Robinson Velasco, Monica Weber, Cory Litwin, and Boris Shvartz exec producing. Development on the script is underway immediately, with the project marking AFA’s first since exiting their three-year overall offer at Universal. Development is made possible by a new strategic partnership and investment from Shvarts, in a offer negotiated by Cory Litwin of Range Media Partners, which reps AFA and will handle sales on the project.
In a statement to Deadline, Hiltzik said, “I am both thrilled and humbled to be working with AFA on the reimagined Sleepaway Camp. Though I have been approached by several companies regarding the remake of Sleepaway Camp, only AFA has shared my vision and is excited to have me helm the film, therefore preserving the integrity of the original film for the fans, as well as introducing Sleepaway Camp to a whole new generation. Be prepared for a new member of the Sleepaway Camp family.”
Thompson told us, “Excited to work with the original genius Robert and bring back to life a camp classic!!!”
Ryan Jr., meanwhile, teased, “This is only the beginning. Kenan and I always say we’re fans first and this couldn’t be more on brand for us.”
Thompson’s partner added, ‘I’ve been obsessed with the Sleepaway Camp franchise since I was a kid. We’ve wanted this title for 20 years and we’re over the moon Robert came back to write it. We’re staying true to the OG story while Robert adding in some insane new twists, we’re going lit with the merch too!”
Founded in 2021, AFA was Emmy-nominated for Olympic Highlights with Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson, and won a Kids Choice Award for Fan Film of the Year on Good Burger 2. Thompson, a six-time Emmy nominee and the longest-tenured cast member of Saturday Night Live, continues to balance comedy and producing efforts through AFA, alongside veteran manager and producer Ryan Jr.
On his work with AFA, Range’s Litwin told us, “Johnny and Kenan are beyond impressive in their talent, character, and hustle. We’ve been looking for the right people to team up as we launch and expand our careers as producers and investors in the film space. What they’ve built with AFA and their entire slate of projects, including Sleepaway Camp, is incredible. Boris and I couldn’t be more excited to partner with them. Stay tuned!”
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