‘THE ARCHIES’ WRAPS PRODUCTION
Production has wrapped up on “The Archies,” a Netflix coming-of-age, live action musical set in 1960s India, based on the teenagers of Riverdale and the popular comic book series of the same title. Directed by Zoya Akhtar (“Gully Boy”), the film stars the offspring of many of Bollywood’s current superstars. These include: Mihir Ahuja, Dot, Yuvraj Menda and Vedang Raina. They are joined by Khushi Kapoor, the daughter of the late actor Sridevi and producer Boney Kapoor and sister of Janhvi Kapoor; superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter Suhana Khan; and Agastya Nanda, the grandson of revered actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan. It was written by Akhtar, Reema Kagti and Ayesha Devitre. Production is by Tiger Baby (Akhtar and Kagti), Graphic India (Sharad Devarajan) and Archie Comics.
HAINAN UNDER WAY
The Hainan Island International Film Festival got under way on Sunday, after a delay caused by changing COVID regulations in China. The festival announced its competition section shortly before the opening. It includes a selection of festival favorites: “Aftersun,” “As Bestas,” “Goutte d’Or,” “Saint-Omer,” “The Innocent,” “Trenque Lauquen,” “Vera,” “What Remains,” and “World War III,” as well as two titles from mainland China, “The Cord Of Life,” directed by Qiao Siyu and “Georgia,” directed by Chakme Rinpoche.
The documentary competition is entirely composed of foreign films: “A Marble Travelogue,” “A Steady Job,” “Blue Bag Life,” “Dry Ground Burning,” “Rookies,” “See You Friday Robinson,” “The Eclipse” and “We, Students!.”
Other sections were announced earlier. The festival runs until Dec. 25 at locations in Sanya and around the island province.
EROS APPEALS FOR MORE TIME
Indian entertainment group, Eros Media World says it will appeal against the New York Stock Exchange’s decision to delist the company’s A shares and suspend share trading. A hearing on the matter has been postponed at Eros’s request until April 13, 2023. The NYSE said that Eros had failed to file its annual and semi-annual interim reports on time. Eros said that it was still disentangling itself from STX Entertainment, the U.S.-based company that it acquired some two years earlier, and which it sold in April 2022 to The Najafi Companies. “Although the sale of the STX Entertainment business was necessary to enable the company to pursue its long-term strategy and maximize long term value for shareholders, the separation of the two companies caused complex financial reporting and other transition issues,” said Eros.