Article: Lock Up The Kids, 3rd Sleepaway Sequel Set

The Atlanta Journal Constitution
October 9, 1987
By Scott Cain, Staff Writer

At Lakewood Fairgrounds, where the horror movie "Sleepaway Camp II" is under production, it's business as usual. Director Michael Simpson has been given the go-ahead to make a third "Sleepaway Camp." A script is ready, and Simpson will go into production Monday. He's finishing "Camp II," most of which was filmed in Bremen, this week. At Lakewood Fairgrounds, where the horror movie "Sleepaway Camp II" is under production, it's business as usual: "There's been a lot of gore this week," director Michael Simpson deadpans. "I've got a lot of dead teenagers."

Some will survive, you may rest assured. They have to: There's more bloodletting to come. Simpson has been given the go-ahead to make a third "Sleepaway Camp." A script is ready, and Simpson will go into production Monday. He's finishing "Camp II," most of which was filmed in Bremen, this week.

A commitment of this type is rare in the movie business. The usual practice is to wait until a film is established as a box-office hit before ordering a sequel. Simpson said Double Helix Films, the New York company producing "Sleepaway Camp II," was pleased with "dailies" and decided to proceed with "Part III" while Simpson's crew was still in place.

The tentative title of the upcoming movie is "Teenage Wasteland (Sleepaway Camp III)." Pamela Springsteen, who places a curse on the camp as Angela in Part II, will return for Part III. She is the sister of rock star Bruce Springsteen.

Tracy Griffith, a "Guiding Light" cast member who is the sister of actress Melanie Griffith, will be a co-star.

Also appearing in "Part III" will be Michael J. Pollard, a character actor best remembered for "Bonnie and Clyde" who recently was seen as a volunteer fireman in "Roxanne." Pollard will play the operator of an experimental camp, located on the site of the previous massacres. The story will take place a year after events in "Part II."

Atlanta actors who have roles in "Part III" include Mark Oliver, Chun Yen, Sonya Maddox, John Turner, Sandra Dorsey, Daryl Wilcher, Cliff Brand, Kim Wall, Jarrett Beal, Kyle Holman, Randi Layne, Rick Reitz, Charles Lawlor and David DeVries.

The current production is officially titled "Unhappy Campers (Sleepaway Camp II)" and is scheduled for release next summer. North American video rights already have been purchased by Nelson Entertainment, the new name for Embassy Home Entertainment. Part III will be released worldwide in '89.

The original "Sleepaway Camp" was a 1982 thriller produced in upstate New Yor k by Double Helix, but not directed by Simpson.

Simpson is a prolific Atlanta moviemaker who has most often worked in partnership with William VanDerKloot. Their Atlanta-based company, RMC Films, recently released "Funland," which opens at local theaters on Oct. 16. In the movie, billed as a "dangerous comedy," David Lander of the TV series "Laverne & Shirley" plays a clown who suffers a mental breakdown when gangsters take control of an amusement park.

Both Simpson and VanDerKloot accept assignments outside the jurisdiction of RMC Films. In August, Simpson signed a three-picture deal with Double Helix, of which "Sleepaway Camp II" was the first.