The Hoax is the thrilling and unbelievably true story of the man who nearly pulled off the media scam of the 20th century. In the early 1970s, author Clifford Irving writes a fake biography of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes, claiming that Hughes commissioned it, and sells the book to publishing giant McGraw-Hill. His credibility continually questioned as the ante is upped at every turn, Irving is forced to maintain the increasingly difficult charade as he strong-arms McGraw Hill to pay an unheard-of one million dollars for the rights to the story, acquires a the illegally procured documents that will provide the foundation for the book and works around the clock to meet his publisher’s deadline.
Featured Clips
- When Clifford gets good news from his publishers, he quickly starts upgrading his life. In this scene: Clifford Irving (Richard Gere), Dick Suskind (Alfred Molina), Edith Irving (Marcia Gay Harden)
- When his publishers refuse to meet with him, Cliff makes up a story about working on "the most important book of the 20th century." In this scene: Clifford Irving (Richard Gere), Andrea Tate (Hope Davis)
- Cliff and Dick infiltrate the Pentagon to obtain a hard copy of a Hughes federal testimony. In this scene: Clifford Irving (Richard Gere), Dick Suskind (Alfred Molina)
- Irving approaches his former publishers with a fantastical (and fabricated) story of being summoned by Howard Hughes. In this scene: Clifford Irving (Richard Gere), Dick Suskind (Alfred Molina), Andrea Tate (Hope Davis)
- As the hoax gets more serious, Cliff comes up with a way to cover his tracks. In this scene: Clifford Irving (Richard Gere), Dick Suskind (Alfred Molina)
- Cliff receives a mysterious box containing documents that could change everything about his book. In this scene: Clifford Irving (Richard Gere)
- Irving uses the publishers' increasing desire for the hit autobiography to leverage even larger paychecks for himself and "Hughes." In this scene: Clifford Irving (Richard Gere), Shelton Fisher (Stanley Tucci)
- Cliff receives an extremely powerful document from an unknown source. In this scene: Clifford Irving (Richard Gere), Dick Suskind (Alfred Molina)
- Cliff gets into character as Howard Hughes to record his "biography." In this scene: Clifford Irving (Richard Gere), Dick Suskind (Alfred Molina)








