Is 'Killshot' another Weinstein Co. misfire?

Add screenwriter Hossein Amini ("The Wings of the Dove") and uncredited revisions by Oscar winners Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella, and what does "Killshot" add up to?

The way the Weinstein Co. sees it, a mess it has tried -- and failed -- to unload.

Although most recent news stories and blog posts about Harvey Weinstein's movie troubles have focused on the fate of Stephen Daldry's "The Reader," whose premiere date has sparked a feud between Weinstein and producer Scott Rudin, an equally compelling drama is unfolding around "Killshot," which was quietly pulled off next month's theatrical release schedule -- yet again.

It's at least the fifth time the movie, starring Diane Lane and Mickey Rourke, has been scheduled for release only to be pushed to a later date. As it now stands, "Killshot," which was filmed nearly three years ago and at one point looked as if it might be a direct-to-video release, likely will not come out until early 2009, the Weinstein Co. said Wednesday.

It's a startling outcome, given the film's pedigree, but just another dose of bad news for the Weinstein Co., which has struggled at the box office and seen half a dozen of the company's top executives leave (or announce their departure) in recent weeks.

Although Woody Allen's summer movie, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," was a critical success and grossed more than $20 million for the Weinstein Co., the upstart studio's flops have outnumbered the hits. Among titles on this year's slate, Colin Farrell's "Cassandra's Dream," Norah Jones' "My Blueberry Nights" and the horror movie "Diary of the Dead" all grossed less than $1 million domestically.

As its movies have been disappearing at the multiplex, the Weinstein Co. has tried to sell several of its movies to other distributors, including "Killshot."

Earlier this spring at the Creative Artists Agency, "Killshot" was screened for what was billed as a showcase of its actors and filmmaking team but was also a sales event. And as has happened at other earlier sales screenings for "Killshot," there were no takers for the film's domestic distribution rights.