Part III: It's a go... or is it? During December 2000, Fangoria Magazine contacted Hayes and asked him if he would be interested in reuniting Rose and Hiltzik on stage in New York City for a "Sleepaway Camp Reunion" at their popular Weekend Of Horrors convention. Hoping to reach out even deeper, Hayes asked Fangoria if he could assemble a much larger Sleepaway Camp Reunion and bring in all the cast members that he was now in touch with.

Fangoria agreed and allowed Hayes to assemble the "Sleepaway" guest list for the show. Hayes was able to get 8 cast members to attend as well as writer/director Robert Hiltzik and his wife Michele Tatosian. It was here at the Reunion that the crew launched the first word that "Return To Sleepaway Camp" was a go.

Top - Left to Right: Desiree Gould, Michael Tatosian, Tom Van Dell, John Dunn, Robert Hiltzik, Paul DeAngelo, Jeff Hayes. Bottom Left to Right: Jonathan Tiersten, Felissa Rose, Loris Sallahain

Left To Right: Jeff Hayes, Paul DeAngelo, Robert Hiltzik, Felissa Rose, Jonathan Tiersten, Desiree Gould

Auditions began during the 2nd quarter of 2001 in New York. Hiltzik met with a variety of young actors and actresses for various camper and counselor roles. Rose also sat in on some of the auditions, working as a casting assistant. In fact, a couple of the actors were flown out to Los Angeles to get their faces cast for some of the gruesome fx. However, after the tragedy of September 11, 2001 and a fall in the money market, some of the initial investors backed out and the movie was temporarily put on the burner.

Some people got nervous and some lost faith in the project. Despite this, Hayes and Rose just kept on promoting the movie with the realization that it was eventually going to happen. Hayes made arrangements for 3 Midnight "Sleepaway Camp" screenings at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin TX in October 2001 and for another theatrical screening at the "Flashback Weekend Sci-Fi & Horror" convention in 2002. Both events were big draws and the "Sleepaway" momentum continued growing.

Hiltzik, Rose, Tiersten, and Hayes at one of the midnight screenings in Austin, TX - October 2001

Jeff and Felissa at "Flashback Weekened" in Chicago - August 2002.

Finally in 2003, Van Dell was able to raise the funds through a new group of investors and the movie was set to start shooting in September 2003. Some of the actors cast during the initial auditions were called back to come shoot the movie while some others were recast. A couple actors were sent out to get casts made of their heads for various deadly effects and the boat finally rowed the rest of the way to the campgrounds. In September 2003, Hiltzik, Rose, Hayes, and Tiersten packed their "Sleepaway" bags and headed to Camp...