"The Hoax" Released April 6, Wide Release April 13

People will believe what you tell them to. People will believe what they want to believe. As long as those two things jive, then you can have anyone in the palm of your hand. For a long time, those things meshed for Clifford Irving, who is the latest portrayal of Richard Gere in "The Hoax," about an incredible fiction Irving wrote in 1971 about reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes. What makes it interesting, is that he passed it off as a biography and, for a long time, people bought the story.

"The Hoax," due to hit theaters in April, tells the story of one of the greatest lies ever told.

Clifford Irving thought the hoax would work because Howard Hughes was a recluse. Surely, he wouldn't come forward to say that none of these conversations had ever happened. Howard Hughes had been hiding in his hole for more than a decade at this point. He probably wouldn't even know about the book, being much too wrapped up in being a recluse. And even if Hughes did come forth, he wasn't known for having a firm grip on reality. It was indeed a brilliant plan. But, as brilliant plans often do, this one disintegrated when people started asking questions.

Apparently, the whole thing started as an elaborate joke, but Clifford Irving is soon caught up (things are always fine until someone gets "caught up" in something) in his own deception. Joke turns to crime and things turn dark.

Things get really interesting when Clifford Irving finds possible links between Howard Hughes and the embattled Nixon administration, and we all know what was going on with the Nixon administration in 1971. Bad, bad things.

Clifford Irving was a journalist. He should have known that, if you dig long enough in any patch of grass, you're bound to find something buried. Everyone has skeletons, especially people with money. Money always comes attached to the bleached bones of some untruth. Scandal is everywhere. Finding it takes only patience. That is probably the lure, the Holy Grail. It is also the beginning of the end.

This is going to be a great film for amateur philosophers to discuss. Ironically enough, the film is based at least in part on Clifford Irving's memoir of the whole sordid affair. It also begs the question whether any parts of "The Hoax" are actually a hoax, except for the fact that the entire country saw Irving fall flat on his face. You can imagine where this all leads and what finally ends the adventure, but it's just going to be too much fun to skip. Like a train wreck.

Clifford Irving is being portrayed by Richard Gere. Alfred Molina and Marcia Gay Harden will be on board as Irving's best friend and wife, whom he convinces to participate in the hoax and follow him into his cesspool of deceit.

There aren't too many things that are more fun than a cesspool of deceit.

The screenplay was written by William Wheeler, and the film directed by Lasse Hallström. Cast includes Richard Gere, Alfred Molina, Marcia Gay Harden, Hope Davis, Julie Delpy, Stanley Tucci and Eli Wallach. "The Hoax" is set for a limited release on April 6, with a wide release April 13. It is a Miramax Films drama, and is rated R for language, because journalists are notorious potty-mouths.