Golden Globe winner Richard Gere (Chicago, Pretty Woman, American Gigolo)) stars in the The Hoax, the true story of Clifford Irving, a writer who had the biggest scoop of the 20th century or did he? Whilst our current era of constantly erupting scandals has become a staple of modern culture one of the fastest and most irresistible routes to fame, fortune and adoration in a world that loves a good story, sometimes at any cost the modern hoax was kicked off by perhaps the most spectacular swindle of them all: the Clifford Irving/Howard Hughes hoax of the early 1970s. Set for rental DVD release on 28 January 2008 and retail release on 11 February 2008, The Hoax is a fascinating portrayal of a man whose career is going nowhere until he embarks on the greatest con of the century. A charming husband, affectionate friend and very smart and talented writer, Clifford Irving is also a philanderer, betrayer and outright lying fraud. He’s a character full of charisma and playful mischief that winds up trapped in an increasingly dark, thick web of his own making, creating a media frenzy that threatens to spiral out of control.In 1971, Clifford Irving achieved the very heights of American journalism, nabbing a series of unprecedented interviews with the most famous man in the world ultra-reclusive, immensely powerful, superstar billionaire Howard Hughes revealing his most intimate memories and controversial secrets. Actually, that’s a lie.
In 1971, writer Clifford Irving told an incredible whopper one that became one of the most audacious and outrageous hoaxes ever perpetrated on the media and American public.
Claiming to have obtained Howard Hughes’ long sought-after memoirs, Irving pulled the wool over the entire publishing industry’s eyes, and nearly made off with major cash and worldwide fame, until his clever yarn unravelled into a serious crime.
Joining Richard Gere in an all-star cast is Alfred Molina (Identity, Spiderman 2, Prick Up Your Ears), Academy Award nominee Marcia Gay Harden (Mystic River, The Dead Girl, American Dreamz), Hope Davis (American Splendor, The Weatherman, Proof) Julie Delpy (Before Sunset, Broken Flowers, Krzysztof Kieslowski's Trois Couleurs trilogy), Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada, Lucky Number Slevin, Road to Perdition) and Eli Wallach (The Holiday, Mystic River, The Godfather trilogy).
Directed by Academy Award nominated Lasse Hallström (The Cider House Rules, Casanova, Chocolat), The Hoax is a slick, smart and funny escapade that is guaranteed to entertain you from beginning to end.