The Hoax is a 2006 American comedy-drama film starring Richard Gere, directed by Swedish filmmaker Lasse Hallström. The screenplay by William Wheeler is based on the book of the same title by Clifford Irving. It recounts Irving s elaborate hoax of publishing an autobiography of Howard Hughes that he purportedly helped write, without ever having talked with Hughes.

The screenplay was considerably different from the book. Hired as a technical adviser to the film, Irving was displeased with the product and later asked to have his name removed from the credits. It nonetheless earned a positive critical reception, but was a box office bomb, grossing only $11.7 million against a budget of $25 million.

Plot

In 1971, publishing executives at McGraw-Hill express an interest in Clifford Irving s novel, Rudnick s Problem. Fake!, his previous book about art forger Elmyr de Hory, had sold poorly. Irving believes he has a breakout work, but the publisher decides against releasing the book after a Life editor deems it unsatisfactory.

Vacationing with his friend and researcher Richard Suskind, Irving is ejected from his hotel at 1 a.m, after eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes arrives and demands the entire building be vacated. Returning to New York City to meet with his publishers, Irving finds he has been reduced to meeting with an assistant. Irving storms into the board room, says his new project will be the book of the century , and threatens to take it elsewhere. He struggles to come up with a topic fit for his grandiose claim. Seeing a cover story on Hughes, he decides to make him the subject.

Irving tells McGraw-Hill that Hughes has recruited him to help write his autobiography, and shows forged handwritten notes from Hughes as proof. Handwriting experts confirm the notes as genuine, and the publishers strike a $500,000 deal for the book. Irving believes that the reclusive Hughes is unlikely to sue him, and that his eccentricities can be used to deflect any denials of authenticity for the book.

At the time Irving is having marital problems with his artist wife Edith; he has had an affair. Irving assures Edith he will be faithful as he leaves to begin research with Suskind. To fool experts, the two men devote days to studying documents pertaining to Hughes. They illicitly obtain a copy of a draft biography of Noah Dietrich, a retired Hughes aide, which provides details that add to the apparent authenticity of their work. Irving recites passages into a tape recorder while in character as Hughes, dressing like the millionaire and adding a mustache during these sessions.

As work on the book progresses, Irving receives a box containing scandalous material about questionable dealings between Hughes and President Richard Nixon. He believes that Hughes sent the package and convinces himself that Hughes wants this damaging material included in the book, as a sign he supports the work.

As the publication date draws near, Irving elaborates his hoax, staging an aborted meeting between Hughes and the publishers. Hughes has officially denied that he is involved in the work, but the McGraw-Hill executives are convinced it is genuine. They begin to think it will be a bestseller, and Irving works to gain larger payments for himself and (purportedly) Hughes. Irving and Edith concoct a scheme for her to deposit Hughes s check, payable to H. R. Hughes , into a Swiss bank account using a forged passport with the name Helga R. Hughes.

The continuing drama makes Irving increasingly paranoid. He has alcohol-fueled fantasies about being kidnapped by Hughes s people. His affair with Van Pallandt continues, and the pressure of keeping up a pretense of fidelity with his wife adds to his stress. In what is implied to be a favor to Nixon, Hughes goes public via a televised conference call and denies any knowledge of Irving or the book. Irving is arrested and agrees to cooperate if Edith is granted immunity. At a press conference, a government spokesman announces that Irving, Edith, and Suskind have received short jail sentences.

An overheard radio report details a sudden wave of legal decisions in favor of Hughes. Irving believes this indicates that his book had been used to place the president in debt to Hughes. A fleeting scene set inside the Nixon White House suggests that Nixon s preoccupation with Hughes led directly to the burglary and wiretapping of Democratic Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel. Historians and political analysts dispute this.

Cast

• Milton Buras as Howard Hughes
• Richard Gere as Clifford Irving
• Alfred Molina as Richard Suskind
• Marcia Gay Harden as Edith Irving
• Hope Davis as Andrea Tate
• Julie Delpy as Nina van Pallandt
• Stanley Tucci as Shelton Fisher
• Eli Wallach as Noah Dietrich
• Christopher Evan Welch as Albert Vanderkamp
• Peter McRobbie as George Gordon Holmes
• Željko Ivanek as Ralph Graves

Production

Portions of the film were shot in the Coachella Valley, California. Irving was hired by the producers as technical adviser. The screenplay was changed considerably from the book, and Irving was unhappy with the result. He said, after reading the final script I asked that my name be removed from the movie credits.

Critical reception

A.O. Scott of The New York Times said the film was for the most part a jumpy, suspenseful caper, full of narrow escapes, improbable reversals and complicated intrigue. But it has a sinister, shadowy undertow, an intimation of dread that lingers after Irving’s game is up.

Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times said the film was an unexpectedly satisfying fantasia of reality and imagination, a meditation on the nature of lies and deception, on how we come to embrace not the truth but what it suits us to believe … sharply written … and gracefully directed.

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone rated the film 3 1⁄2 out of four stars and described it as a devilish and devastating satire. He added, Gere gives em the old razzle-dazzle with his roguish charm and sharp comic timing. The surprise is the unexpected feeling he brings to this challenging role.

Deborah Young of Variety describe the film as a breezy, fast-paced, somewhat loose-ended account offers a surprisingly layered vehicle for a maniacally conniving Richard Gere, backed up by a superb Alfred Molina as his accomplice.

The film was ranked as one of the Top 10 of the year by the Los Angeles Times and Newsweek. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has received an 86% positive rate, based on 152 reviews. The site s consensus states: The Hoax is an enormously appealing film, thanks to the uniformly excellent performances and Lasse Hallström s zippy direction. While on Metacritic, the film scored 70 out of 100, based on 37 reviews.

Box office

The Hoax was given a limited opening in 235 theaters in the United States and Canada on April 6, 2007 and earning $1,449,320 on its opening weekend. It eventually grossed $7,164,995 in the US and Canada and $4,607,188 in foreign markets for a total worldwide box office of $11,772,183.

Accolades

The London Film Critics Circle nominated Alfred Molina for British Supporting Actor of the Year, and Richard Gere was nominated for the Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.

Comparison to book and persons

While the major events portrayed did take place, the film takes several dramatic liberties. It eliminates all scenes from the book set in Ibiza, where Irving owned a farmhouse and wrote much of the book.

The author described the film as a historically cockeyed story and decried its characterizations as inaccurate. He was unhappy with being portrayed as desperate and humorless, a washed-up hack writer who lives in a conservative New York suburb. Irving observed, The movie misses the point that the Howard Hughes hoax was a live-action adventure story concocted by two middle-aged hippie expat writers and a Swiss heiress. Edith, my then-wife, a woman of great zest, is portrayed as a dull hausfrau, and Nina van Pallandt, my Danish mistress, as barely one level above a New York hotel hooker. Dick Suskind, witty friend and co-conspirator, is offered to the public as a self-righteous, sweaty buffoon. The scenes that deal with Movie Clifford feuding with Movie Dick, getting him drunk and hiring a bargirl to seduce him, are totally fictional. The Hughes people mailing the package of files to me is also made up.

Films related to Hughes

• The Carpetbaggers (1964)
• Diamonds are Forever (1971)
• F for Fake (1974)
• The Amazing Howard Hughes (1977; TV movie)
• Melvin and Howard (1980)
• Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988)
• The Rocketeer (1991)
• The Aviator (2004)
• Rules Don t Apply (2016)

Year	2006
ReleaseDate	2007-04-20
RuntimeMins	116
RuntimeStr	1h 56min
Plot	In what would cause a fantastic media frenzy, Clifford Irving sells his bogus biography of Howard Hughes to a premiere publishing house in the early 1970s.
Awards	Awards, 1 win & 3 nominations
Directors	Lasse Hallström
Writers	William Wheeler, Clifford Irving
Stars	Richard Gere, Alfred Molina, David Aaron Baker
Produced by	Betsy Beers,Erin Eggers,Mark Gordon,Leslie Holleran,Anthony Katagas,Paul A. Levin,Gary Levinsohn,Joshua D. Maurer,Suzanne Patmore Gibbs,Bob Yari
Music by	Carter Burwell
Cinematography by	Oliver Stapleton
Film Editing by	Andrew Mondshein
Casting By	Ali Farrell,Laura Rosenthal
Production Design by	Mark Ricker
Art Direction by	Mario Ventenilla
Set Decoration by	Carol Silverman
Costume Design by	Edgar Pomeroy,David C. Robinson
Makeup Department	Eileen Barrett,Stephen G. Bishop,Milton Buras,Marta Lila Cintron,LuAnn Claps,Angel O. Cruz,Kelly Gleason,Nydia Ibarra,Jacqueline Jimenez,Heidi Kulow,Isabelle Murray,Lyndell Quiyou,Marielena Ramirez,Amarilis Saldana,Terri Trupp,Frances Valley,Anita Crawford,Chris Curich,John Jack Curtin,Valerie Gladstone-Appel,Craig Lindberg,Lizz Scalice,Rodd Wolff
Production Management	Anthony Katagas,Robert Katz,Betsy Mackey,Ines Mongil-Echandi,John Portnoy,Louise Runge,Nancy Swenton,Janice Williams
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	Timothy Blockburger,Frank Ferro,Gary S. Rake,David ‘Wex’ Wechsler,Adam T. Weisinger,Eric Yellin,Ivan Kraljevic,Deanna Leslie
Art Department	Carlos Acosta,James C. Allen,Bob Arietta,Meredith Barchat,Mark Bentley,Joe Berger,Coburn Boyd,Jeff Butcher,Aurora Cedeno,John J. Ciccimarro,Isaac Cohen,David Cooney,Robert Currie,Michael Cycan,Dan Denitto,Richard Dowgin,Sofi Eloy,Jorge Fernandez,Daniel Fisher,Andrew Fishman,Paul Fletcher,Amy Fritz,Carola Garcia,Joseph Garzero,Paul W. Gorfine,Bill Gregory,Joanna Hartell,Karola Hawk,Gavin A. Holmes,Harold Horn,Roberto Jiménez,Henry Kaplan,Steve Lynch,Brianne Maciejowski,Daniel E. Mahon,Gary S. May,Fausto Montero,Richard Moran,Xavier A. Munoz-Torres,Wilhem Perez,Ralph Perri,Igor Potashanik,Charles Kevin Quick,David Robinson,Immer Rodriguez,Juan O. Rodroguez,Jeffrey Rollins,Glenda Rosa,Paul Rovira,Pierre Rovira,Lisa Rutledge,Gene Spiotta,Jelmer Steenhuig,Keith Steinberg,Larry Steinberg,Richard Suffern,Rodian Tikhomirov,Guifre Tort Ortiz,James Whelan,Gregory Williams,Dan Yusupov,Brian Buteau,Lisa Kent,Eugene Paul Lynch,Hollywood Nick Pagani,Mary Prlain,Kevin L. Raper,Justin Rhatigan,Mick Rossman,Patrick Stegall
Sound Department	Allan Byer,Robert Fernandez,Lawrence Herman,Kenton Jakub,Dan Korintus,Brian Langman,Allen Lau,Eliza Paley,Mike Poppleton,Paul Pouthier,Manuel Reyes Crespo,Stuart Stanley,Jeffrey Stern,Bill Sweeney,Alfredo Viteri,Ryan Collison,Kay Denmark,Dror Gescheit,Jay Peck
Special Effects by	Drew Jiritano,Marc Fogel,Neil Ruddy,Andrea Swistak
Visual Effects by	Jamie Baxter,Ryan Beadle,Steve Caldwell,Samuel M. Dabbs,Dennis Dorney,Mark Dornfeld,Syd Dutton,Michele Ferrone,Adam Gass,Laurie Powers Going,R.J. Harbour,Shaina Holmes,Nicholas Kim,Jeremy Lang,Chris MacKenzie,Lori C. Miller,Lillani E. Moran,Mark Sawicki,Bill Taylor,Amani Williams,Motassem Younes,Don Canfield,Bernadette Couture,Mark Kenaston,Mary E. Manning,Robert Scifo,David S. Williams Jr.
Stunts	John Copeman,David Shumbris,Derrick Simmons,Manny Siverio,Gene Harrison
Camera and Electrical Department	Mariel Acevedo,Nick Aiello,Robert M. Andres,Will Arnot,Alison Barton,Sajid Berrios,Kenny Burke,Tony Campenni,Chris Cenatiempo,Leslie Colombani,Francisco Cordero,Kathleen Corgan,Armando Cruz,Ramón Cuadrado,Ben D’Andrea,Jeremiah Dalton,Derin Dobra,Jerry Encarnacion,Alan Feshold,Morris Flam,Jason Foster,Samuel G. Friedman,Jim Galvin,Milton Graña,Dennis Green,Brian Heller,Joel Holland,Thomas Jirgal,Anne Joyce,Michael Krebs,Kurt Lennig,Clay Liversidge,Chris Lombardi,Chris Lombardozzi,Angel D. Lopez Jr.,Jorge Loubriel,Martin Lowry,Bill-Brady Majors,Bobby Mancuso,Sean McCardell,Jim McConkey,Larry McConkey,Luis Alfredo Montero,Felix Nunez,Raymond Orraca,Anibal Pabon,Gabriel Padilla,Rocco Palmieri,John Panuccio,Lance E. Phox,George Potter,Carrie Rees,Ken Regan,Jasinto Reyes,Luis E. ‘Wichi’ Rivera,Bill H. Roberts Jr.,Dave Rudolph,Richard Rutkowski,Roxanna Santiago,Chris Scarfi,Lowell Schulman,Chris Silano,Chris Skutch,Josh Spring,Susan Starr,Patrick Taistra,Scott Tinsley,Joseph Trammell,Mark van Rossen,Ramón Vázquez,Richard Yacuk,Chris Drechsler,Jeffrey A. Eplett,Glenn Fishel,Michael N. Green,Scott Maher,Thomas McGrath Woods,Justin Panzanaro,David Taylor,Joshua Van Praag
Casting Department	Rori Bergman,Meredith Jacobson Marciano,Suzanne Roberts,Zoraida Sanjurjo López,Laura Verbeke,Chris Bustard
Costume and Wardrobe Department	Michael Adkins,Ariel Bowman,Tommy Boyer,Joanna Brett,Meredith Driscoll,Jill Graves Power,Debbie Lucas,Milagros Núñez,Ellen Sara Popiel,Orson Rodriguez,Thomas M. Smalley,Mari Socorro Pérez,Hartsell Taylor,Stephanie Biear,Debbe DuPerrieu,Rhonney Greene,Ana C. Ramirez Velez,Crystal Thompson,Clifford Wray
Editorial Department	Ernest Leif Boyd,Jennifer Godin,Ben Gold,Ann Gray,Nick Iannelli,Tom Mayclim,Dave Muscat,Chris Wallace,Brian Boyd,Tim Hedden,Ken Rubenfeld,Ira Schweitzer,Charlie Wiel
Location Management	Paola Cambo,J. Chan Claggett,Chris Coyne,Sarah Crofts,Juan P. Dominiquez,Kat Donahue,Lauren Fritz,David Gonzalez,Chris Marsh,Alfredo Melendez,Danny O’Brien,Currie Person,Jimmy Price,Peggy Pridemore,Vivian Rebella,Ruben D. Ruiz,Josias Tapia,Gayle Vangrofsky
Music Department	Carter Burwell,Keith Carlock,Michael Farrow,Tony Finno,Hearn Gadbois,James Genus,Richard Glasser,Matt Havron,Bashiri Johnson,Todd Kasow,William Mays,Tracy McKnight,John Palatucci,Sandra Park,Dean Parker,Larry Saltzman,David Torn,E. Gedney Webb
Script and Continuity Department	Mary A. Kelly
Transportation Department	David Conelli,Mo Fitzgerald,Billy Kane,Josiuan Rojas,Nelson C. Wright Jr.,Gilbert Young,John ‘Detroit’ White
Additional Crew	Robert Andres,Frank Angelcyk,Chris Angelich,Jose Arribas,Laura Atkins,Michael Bartol,Joseph Battaglia,Anthony Beaudoin,Francisco Beltran,Annie Benedict,Rebecca Bernard,Alejandro Berríos,Ricardo L Betancourt,Kevin Black,Christina Born,Dennis Brown,John Burke,Claudia Calderón,Jim Campolongo,Jorge Carangui,Yasiri Castro,Al Cerullo,Wayne Cerullo,Amy R. Chaudry,Sam Chwat,Wendy Cohen,John Comer,Soraya Cosme,Kathy Cossu,Jen Cox,Betsy Davis,Michael DeChant,Matt Devine,Thomas Digirolomo,Dommicci,Alexandra Dorian,Philip Douglas,Lou Elissalde,James H. Fitzgerald,Viviana Fusaro,Ivette García Dávila,Melissa Gelernter,Kelli Gillam,Carlos Gonzalez Rosado,Kevin Asher Green,Lauren Guilmartin,Gary Dean Hadlock,Andrea Hanson,Michael Hekmat,Amanda Hernandez,Ángel Hernández,Meredith Hudson,Bonnie Kingsley,Laine R. Kline,Lisa Kussell,Roy Leshchiner,Lindsey Liberatore,Ronald Licciardi,Mary Llenza,Gabrielle Mahon,Jennifer Mancino,Roxanne Mayweather,Ramiro Millan,Lila Mirochin,Spencer Mondshein,Susan Muir,Jeannice Mustafa,Mariella Navarro,Andrew Nicoll,Buckley Norris,Amy O’Bryne,James O’Connell,Casey O’Donnell,Spencer Parker,Derek Pastures,Andrew Poppoon,Tori Preston,Henry Previl,F. Auguste Rahmberg,Manuel Ramos,Michelle Reed,Cristina Rivera,Lorraine Rodriguez-Reyes,Marissa Roman,Gabriel Rosario,Jarin Rossiter,J. Max Ruschak,Kathi Scharer,Allyson Seeger,William Sepulveda,Edith Sommer,Bernd Stephan,Shelly Strong,Dan Stutz,Rebecca Tantalo,Federico Torres Estrada,Rosa Torres-Gotay,Greg Trattner,Omar Vaid,Maria Vazquez,Eva Vedock,Christian Vendetti,Ivan Vincenty,Alex Vonhungen,Brendan Walsh,Ian Watermeier,Taj Whitesell,Russell Zapata,Dianne Zaremba,Rob Zorcik,Joanna Zorick,Michael Altman,Karlena Barbosa,Lori Berhon,Tricia Brouk,Jason Buim,Max A. Butler,Jeff Chena,David Scott Faris,McCord Fitzsimmons,Lowell Freedman,Harry Lapham,Michael J. Linowes,Robert Lopez,Julia Muggia,Sean Oliver,Whitney Rank,Christina I. Rodriguez,Nina Saxon,Bill Timoney,Dana Wilkey,Tim Wilson,Christa Zofcin Workman
Thanks	Bobby Baker Burrows,Wayne Federman,Barry D. Maurer,Mike Spera
Genres	Biography, Comedy, Drama
Companies	Miramax, Bob Yari Productions, The Mark Gordon Company
Countries	USA
Languages	English
ContentRating	R
ImDbRating	6.7
ImDbRatingVotes	16616
MetacriticRating	70
Keywords	howard hughes,rooftop,f word,mcgraw hill publishing company,flashback