The Hoax
Short description
In early 1970s New York, a struggling novelist named Clifford Irving faces rejection from a major publisher. Desperate to turn his fortunes around, he tells the company that the reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes has personally asked him to write his memoirs. Together with his friend and assistant Dick Suskind, Irving fabricates letters, documents and interview material to support his story, and the publisher, unable to reach Hughes, offers him a lucrative contract. The lie grows more elaborate as time passes, drawing in Irving's wife, Edith, and involving others. The film is based on real events.
Lasse Hallström directed this comedy-drama, his tenth feature in a career that by then included Casanova and would continue with Hachi: A Dog's Tale. William Wheeler wrote the screenplay, and Richard Gere leads as Irving, with Alfred Molina as Suskind, Marcia Gay Harden as Edith Irving, Hope Davis, Julie Delpy and Stanley Tucci in supporting roles. Twenty-nine performers are credited, alongside forty-seven crew members.
Produced with a budget of about 25 million dollars, the film earned roughly 12 million worldwide, so it did not recover its cost. It holds a 6.6 rating on IMDb from 18,000 votes and a 6.3 on TMDB from 247 votes, while critics rated it 7.4 from 151 reviews, placing critical approval clearly above the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Shortly before filming began, Clifford Irving—whose character was portrayed on screen by Richard Gere—contacted producer Joshua D. Morer, asking him to speak with Edith (Irving's wife, played by Marsha Gay Harden) regarding the acquisition of the rights to display her paintings in the film. Morer fulfilled the request and did indeed speak with Edith about purchasing several of her paintings, which are subsequently shown in the movie.
- During the production of the film, Clifford Irving wrote a thank-you letter to Richard Gere, which he signed with the name "Howard Hughes."
- Before filming began, producer Joshua D. Morer became close with Clifford Irving. Morer's friendship with Irving lasted 13 years, despite the fact that they never met face-to-face and communicated exclusively by telephone. While working on the script, Morer called Irving every week, and their conversations lasted for hours. During these calls, Irving shared details and specifics of the events depicted in the film that were unknown to the general public. These nuances were not included in Irving's memoirs, and he wanted Morer to reflect them on screen. Morer passed everything he heard to screenwriter William Wheeler to be incorporated into the script.
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