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The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.
Killshot is based on the 1989 novel of the same name by American novelist Elmore Leonard. The novel was scripted for the film by Iranian screenwriter Hossein Amini.
Johnny Knoxville was originally supposed to play a minor supporting character. In the novel, while the couple are under witness protection Knoxville's character begins to stalk the couple. He develops a creepy connection to Camron. Ultimately Wayne discovers his bizarre actions such as sneaking into the couple's temporary home while he's out and thus punches him. Their unhappiness and disgust with their new life is what causes the couple to return home and face the 2 killers. Test audiences strongly disapproved of the character and the performance. They felt is was distracting and an uneeded conflict that takes away from the film's energy and thus his scenes were cut.
Killshot is another forgotten project in Weinstein's chest that was neglected and faced negative test audience responses. The Weinsteins simply weren't following through on their projects as their hurtful departure from Miramax and a strings of unsucessfull films came out. Multiple stars of the film such as Justin Timberlake, Viggo Mortinsen, and even Robert De Niro were once attached to the film along with Tony Scott directing and Tarantino producing. What followed was a back and forth struggle as stars and directors kept changing. Elmore Leonard was even in the dark for a while, as was Thomas Jane who had no idea what the state of production of the film was. For a while everyone involved just guessed the film would have a quiet straight to DVD release. The delays occurred because of the multiple re-shoots the film face. The final product wasn't too appealing and was thus heavily edited.
The short running time is simply because of how edited the film was and how much of the movie was cut.
According to a local news report from Arizona, the Weinsteins decided to release the film in a select five theaters to see how well the film does. If they are satisfied, they will go national with the release. So far the film has earned around 14.5 thousand dollars. Early critics in small newspapers and web-sites are reporting the film works mildly because of Rourke's solid performance. It may be possible the film will reach more theaters, but it's a small chance. A DVD release in 3 to 6 months seems more likely. Similar to other upcoming projects such as "Fanboys", the Weinsteins have not given much information about if the release will be national. The news report can be viewed here, and box office information is available here.
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