The change to the case was intended to open the door for an actress to testify against Weinstein in a rape and sexual assault trial that had been scheduled to start on Sept. 9.

Weinstein mostly kept quiet during a brief appearance in a Manhattan courtroom aside from some exchanges with Judge James Burke, who at one point scolded him for pulling out his cell phone during the proceeding.

After the judge agreed with defense lawyers that the trial needed to be put off so they could have time to respond to the revised charges, he told them the new trial date of Jan. 6 was firm. To make the point, he stared at the defendant and asked, "Mr. Weinstein, do you want to go to trial?"

"Not really," Weinstein quipped.

Weinstein, 67, who's free on $1 million bail, has denied all accusations of non-consensual sex.

After the hearing, his attorneys said they would ask the judge to dismiss the indictment, which they called a "desperate" attempt to salvage the case.

"I think the case itself is weak," said his lawyer Donna Rotunno.