Producers: 'Killshot' release date remains uncertain

"Killshot" producers remain hush-hush about the film's theatrical release nearly a year after filming took place in Cape Girardeau and despite reports on the Web that a reshoot will take place in Canada in January.

A Weinstein Co. representative Wednesday would only say that no release date has been set, and "Killshot" is currently designated with a "to be announced" release for sometime in 2007.

The Web site of Elmore Leonard, author of the "Killshot" novel, reports reshoots will take place, and the Web site Canada.com reports those shoots will take place in Canada next month.

But the Missouri Film Commission, which assisted with filming here in Cape Girardeau in January, still has no knowledge about the reshoots or an official release date, said commission assistant director Andrea Sporcic.

Morley Swingle, who may have the best inside track of any local due to his acquaintance with Leonard, said the author's personal assistant, Greg Sutter, told Swingle he knew what the holdup is with the "Killshot" film adaptation but was "sworn to secrecy."

Leonard consulted Swingle while writing his novel, which gave Swingle an all-access pass during filming in Cape Girardeau, where he could be seen hovering over director John Madden's shoulder during shoots.

Despite the secrecy surrounding the long delay, Swingle said he's still not worried that "Killshot" will go straight to video and miss its chance on the big screen.

"I feel like it's such a powerful cast and such a big-name director and producer that I am very optimistic that it's going to be coming out to the big screen and they are still doing whatever is required to make it perfect," Swingle said.

The movie stars Thomas Jane, Diane Lane, Johnny Knoxville and Mickey Rourke, among others, and is produced by Quentin Tarantino. Madden is the Academy Award-nominated director of "Shakespeare in Love."

Seth Hudson shares Swingle's optimism. He worked as a stand-in for Jane during the filming, which launched other opportunities in film. He was a stand-in for a major film shot this summer in St. Louis.

A few weeks ago he rented the movie "Lucky Number Slevin," which contained a "Killshot" preview.

"They normally don't put previews on movies if they're not going to come out," said Hudson, a senior at Murray State University.

Reshoots and delays are not unusual for Hollywood. But the fact that "Killshot" was filmed locally gave area residents an inside look at the shooting process -- a process most people never get to see -- and built up expectations for the release, Swingle said.

"Killshot" was filmed both in Cape Girardeau and in Canada last year and early this year. Several days of filming in Cape Girardeau in January pumped $700,000 directly into the local economy and brought spectators out en masse to watch the project. The movie was originally scheduled for an Oct. 20 release, then a fall 2006 release, before being pushed back to 2007.

msanders@semissourian.com

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