{"id":166121,"date":"2025-09-18T20:23:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T20:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/166121\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T20:23:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T20:23:08","slug":"kenan-thompson-developing-reimagining-of-80s-slasher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/166121\/","title":{"rendered":"Kenan Thompson Developing Reimagining Of \u201880s Slasher"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tEXCLUSIVE: AFA<\/a>, the production company and talent incubator of Kenan Thompson<\/a> and Johnny Ryan Jr.<\/a>, has acquired remake rights to Sleepaway Camp<\/a>, the cult classic \u201980s slasher from writer-director Robert Hiltzik<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tSpecifics as to AFA\u2019s take on the material are under wraps for now. 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\u2019ve 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 artist, keeping the original architects of the franchise at the forefront of its evolution is a given.<\/p>\n

\n\tReleased in 1983, Sleepaway Camp is a low-budget summer-camp slasher in which a shy teen\u2019s 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\u2019s sister). Hiltzik returned for 2008\u2019s Return to Sleepaway Camp, with Jim Markovic helming 2012\u2019s Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor.<\/p>\n

\n\tNo stranger to summer camp, having starred opposite Ben Stiller in the Steven Brill & Judd Apatow-penned kids\u2019 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 Shvarts exec producing. Development on the script is underway now, with the project marking AFA\u2019s first since exiting their three-year overall deal at Universal. Development is made possible by a new strategic partnership and investment from Shvarts, in a deal negotiated by Cory Litwin of Range Media Partners, which reps AFA. Range Select will handle sales on the project.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a statement to Deadline, Hiltzik said, \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThompson told us, \u201cExcited to work with the original genius Robert and bring back to life a camp classic!!!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tRyan Jr., meanwhile, teased, \u201cThis is only the beginning. Kenan and I always say we\u2019re fans first and this couldn\u2019t be more on brand for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThompson\u2019s partner added, \u2018I\u2019ve been obsessed with the Sleepaway Camp franchise since I was a kid. We\u2019ve wanted this title for 20 years and we\u2019re over the moon Robert came back to write it. We\u2019re staying true to the OG story while Robert adding in some insane new twists, we\u2019re going crazy with the merch too!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFounded 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.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn his work with AFA, Range\u2019s Litwin told us, \u201cJohnny and Kenan are beyond impressive in their talent, character, and hustle. We\u2019ve 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\u2019ve built with AFA and their entire slate of projects, including Sleepaway Camp, is incredible. Boris and I couldn\u2019t be more excited to partner with them. Stay tuned!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: AFA, the production company and talent incubator of Kenan Thompson and Johnny Ryan Jr., has acquired remake…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":166122,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[100173,88,100174,89423,206,100175,44476],"class_list":{"0":"post-166121","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-afa","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-johnny-ryan-jr","11":"tag-kenan-thompson","12":"tag-movies","13":"tag-robert-hiltzik","14":"tag-sleepaway-camp"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=166121"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166121\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}