Summary
Director Lasse Hallström offers a brisk account of the scam that shook the literary community with this semi-comic biographical drama starring Richard Gere as the man who sold a fraudulent biography of Howard Hughes to publishing giant McGraw Hill. The year was 1971; the Vietnam War was raging and protestors filled the streets. Clifford Irving (Gere) was a struggling author with bold ambitions, and the determination needed to see them through. When Irving's attempt to sell his latest novel to McGraw Hill via his in-house publisher, Andrea Tate (Hope Davis), falls through at the last minute, the frustrated author loudly proclaims that his next novel will be "the book of the century." Upon returning to his wife Edith's (Marcia Gay Harden) makeshift studio, the humiliated author catches a glimpse of eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes on a magazine cover. Later, almost jokingly, Irving and his best friend Dick Suskind (Alfred Molina) begin to fantasize about a scenario in which the author convinces his publishers that he has been personally selected by Hughes to pen the billionaire's memoirs. The revenge fantasy becomes a complicated reality, however, when Irving and Suskind approach skeptical McGraw Hill heavy Shelton Fisher (Stanley Tucci) with a series of forged letters presumably written by Hughes himself and offering unwavering support for the project. 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 "Hughes" an unheard-of one million dollars for the rights to his life 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. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Additional Information
Subjects |
Irving, Clifford
-- Drama.
Hughes, Howard, -- 1905-1976 -- Drama. Biographers -- United States -- Drama. Scandals -- United States -- Drama. Mass media -- United States -- Drama. Feature films. Video recordings for the hearing impaired. |
Publisher | Burbank, CA :Miramax Home Entertainment,2007 |
Edition | Widescreen version. |
Other Titles | Clifford Irving, what really happened. |
Contributors |
Katagas, Anthony.
Levinsohn, Gary. Hallström, Lasse. Gere, Richard, 1949- Molina, Alfred, 1953- Harden, Marcia Gay. Davis, Hope, 1967- Delpy, Julie, 1969- Tucci, Stanley. Burwell, Carter. Irving, Clifford. Clifford Irving, what really happened. Miramax Films. Bob Yari Productions. Mark Gordon Company. City Entertainment (Firm) Miramax Home Entertainment (Firm) |
Participants/Performers |
Richard Gere, Alfred Molina, Marcia Gay Harden, Hope Davis, Julie Delpy, Stanley Tucci. |
Other Contributors |
Director of photography, Oliver Stapleton ; editor, Andrew Mondshein ; music, Carter Burwell ; costume designer, David Robinson ; production designer, Mark Ricker. |
Audience |
Rated R; for language. |
Language |
English French Spanish Includes English and Spanish language tracks, with optional French or Spanish subtitles; with optional English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired (SDH); Closed-captioned. |
Notes |
Title from container. Based on the book by Clifford Irving. DVD release of the 2006 motion picture. Special features: "Stranger than fiction": making-of featurette; "Mike Wallace: reflections on a con"; deleted scenes with commentary by director Lasse Hallström and writer William Wheeler; extended scene "Business as pleasure"; feature commentary by director Lasse Hallström and writer William Wheeler; feature commentary with producers Leslie Holleran and Joshua D. Maurer. |
System Details |
DVD; Region 1 ; widescreen (1.85:1, enhanced) presentation ; Dolby digital 5.1 surround. |
Description |
1 videodisc (approximately 115 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in. |
ISBN | 0788867709 9780788867705 |
Other | Classic View |