TEMPERATURE RISING

What do you do with a movie starring an actor who’s warming up--but not quite “hot”?

In the case of Orion Pics and Kevin Costner, the answer may be: Hold the picture until a bigger one fuels his career. On hold: “No Way Out,” a political suspense thriller set in the Pentagon stars Costner as Lt. Cmdr. Tom Farrell, who is given just 48 hours to find the sole witness to a brutal crime that is being covered up.

Directed by Roger Donaldson (“The Bounty,” “Marie: A True Story”), “No Way Out” wrapped last June for Orion, but won’t appear until August. Studio insiders tell us that Orion is banking on Costner’s Eliot Ness in “The Untouchables” (due in June) to heat up his public image.

We asked Orion honcho Michael Medavoy why the long delay on “Out” coming out and got this: “Because . . . no comment.”