Sarah Polley (right), in "Splice." Don't believe every movie rumor you read on the Internet. Earlier this week a story flared around the Web that Vincenzo Natali's much-talked-about Sundance sci-fi screamer "Splice" was juggling offers from multiple buyers, including Minneapolis-based art house distributor Apparition. On Monday showbiz gossip Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily announced that Apparition was offering at least $2.5 million plus a $20 million promotional budget. The Hollywood Reporter echoed a variation on the theme Tuesday. It was a plausible story. Apparition has its feet in two different camps, balancing classy releases like "Bright Star" and "Young Victoria" against exploitable B titles like the Afrolicious action spoof "Black Dynamite" and "Boondock Saints II," the label's highest-grossing release to date. "Splice" has a classy pedigree for a horror flick. Natali is a Guillermo del Toro protégé. His modern-day Frankenstein story is top-heavy with the sort of acting talent Apparition favors. Oscar winner Adrien Brody and gifted Canadian actress Sarah Polley play maverick genetic scientists who sire a mutant humanoid with dire consequences. But the Apparition acquisition just isn't so, says the label's boss, Bill Pohlad. "That's incorrect," a bemused Pohlad said Thursday. "It's funny how those stories get started. It was a surprise to all of us to hear that. There were a couple other companies mentioned and I think it was a surprise to them, too." The latest scenario for "Splice" is that it's got no buyers circling, but a number of offers for "service deals," which would see "Splice's" backers paying a fee to get the film a theatrical run, avoiding the stigma of a straight-to-DVD release. Stay tuned.
